Kazuo Matsui (Kaz)

Positions: Second Baseman and Shortstop
Bats: Both, Throws: Right
Height: 5' 10", Weight: 187 lb.

Born: October 23, 1975 in Osaka, Japan
High School: PL Gakuen (Osaka, JP)
Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets in 2003. (All Transactions)
Debut: April 6, 2004 (Age 28)   vs. ATL 3 AB, 3 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Teams (by GP): Astros/Mets/Rockies 2004-2010
Agents: Arn Tellem,John Kim [*]
Final Game: May 18, 2010 (Age 34)   vs. LAD 4 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
    About biographical information

• 4/3 Mets Chronicle: Mets Opening Day Game Notes: Mets Opening Day Game Notes: David Wright has at least one hit in every Home Opener since making his first Opening...

• 3/21 PaulLebowitz.com: Keys to 2013: Oakland Athletics: Starting Pitching Key: Jarrod Parker With the departure of Brandon McCarthy and the questionable status of Bartolo Colon (he’s...
• 3/17 mlbreports.com : World Baseball Classic Week Two Recap: Like us on Facebook here   Saturday, March 17th, 2013 By Sam Evans (Baseball Writer):  A lot has happened in the World Baseball...
• 3/13 WasWatching: Hiroyuki Nakajima: Via Danny Knobler - When the A’s traded for Jed Lowrie, they didn’t have a full-time position for him. They said he’d...
• 3/8 Mets360.com: The Mets’ parti**** in the WBC, or lack thereof: The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is underway, with first round action completed in **** Japan and Taichung, Taiwan. Cuba, Japan,...
• 3/4 Puckett's Pond: WBC Pool A Overview: Brazil After serving as a bench coach for the US in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, HOFer Barry Larkin skippers Brazil’s...

• 2/25 The Baseball Continuum: World Baseball Classic Preview: Pool A (**** Japan): Pool A of the World Baseball Classic has two traditional powerhouses, Japan and Cuba, and two countries where baseball is a niche...
• 2/24 The Baseball Continuum: Early WBC News for Feb. 24, 2013: For last night’s news, go here. For news from the overnight, go below the jump: Results from warm-up games in Asia: Japan...
• 2/18 Call to the Pen: World Baseball Classic: Pool A Lacks Current MLB Players, But Not the Talent: With the recent news that Bruce Chen will not pitch for China in the upcoming 2013 World Baseball Classic, there will be no current...
• 2/12 Baseball Jerks: Oakland Athletics 2013 Preview: The Oakland Athletics staged a coup last year, beating out powerhouses like the Rangers and Angels on the strength of a pitching...

• 1/14 Mets360.com: What should the Mets do with Wilmer Flores?: There is no argument that Wilmer Flores possesses one of the most potent bats in the Mets minor league system, earning him a spot...

• 12/25 Mets360.com: The 10 worst presents the Mets have given us: It’s that time of year once again. Time to open presents and fake being exceptionally pleased by the gesture of a loved...
• 12/18 T Van Poppel RC Ret Plan: A’s Ink Hiroyuki Nakajima: The A’s have agreed to a two-year $6.5M contract with Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima a day after their latest shortstop,...

• 9/13 High Heat Stats: Today in 1983: Taken from the Baseball-Reference.com bullpen, here are a few interesting things that happened in MLB on September 13, 2012. Dan...

• 7/30 Rising Apple: Mets All-Time Busts: Welcome to the Club, Jason Bay!: With another 0-the series in Arizona, Jason Bay’s horrendous 2012 campaign descended into an all-time low. In just 126 plate...
• 7/21 Rising Apple: This Date in Mets History: 2004 – Wright Makes ML Debut as Mets Take Advantage of Expos’ Miscues to win, 5-4: “The attention, and perhaps the torch, shifted from Piazza to Wright yesterday…Standing in the same spot where Piazza...

• 5/24 Call to the Pen: Yu Darvish: Behind the Numbers: The Texas Rangers invested heavily in the future of Yu Darvish when they followed up a $51.7 million posting fee (just for the...
• 5/11 The Captain's Blog: 再会: History of Japanese Pitcher/Batter Confrontations: A couple of weeks ago, Hiroki Kuroda and Yu Darvish staged a rare duel between Japanese-born converts from the Nippon Professional...

• 12/7 WasWatching: Hiroyuki Nakajima: The Yankees have won the negotiating rights for Japan’s Hiroyuki Nakajima. Other notable Japanese infielders to play major league...

• 11/11 NY Baseball Digest: Norichika Aoki and the Mets: With it appearing more likely every day that Jose Reyes will be signing elsewhere, the discussion turns to how the Mets can...

• 10/18 YankeeAnalysts.com: Guest Post: An Informed Take On Yu Darvish: This is a guest post from David P. over at Yankees Source, who can be reached at @yankeesource on Twitter. He is a scout for an...

• 9/4 B-R Blog: WPA>= .260 In 1st Major League Game: Since 1919, which batter had the highest WPA in his first big league game? Here is the list - Rk Gcar Player Date Tm Opp Rslt...

• 8/31 MLBTradeRumors: Giants Designate Aaron Rowand For Assignment: Aaron Rowand's Giants tenure has come to a close.  The team designated the outfielder for assignment today, reports Andrew...
• 8/19 PaulLebowitz.com: Joe Mauer Was In Right Field: Joe Mauer was in right field last night because the Twins were horribly short-handed and had no choice but to stick him out there,...

• 7/21 B-R Blog: Most Career Post-Season Triples: How many players have 2 or more triples in the post-season? Here is the list - Rk Player #Matching   PA AB H 2B 3B 6 HR RBI...

• 6/10 Bus League Baseball: Welcome To The Show: Major League Debuts From June 2-8: Something weird happened to Minnesota’s Brian Dinkelman in his major league debut: he was issued an intentional walk. It happened...

• 5/31 B-R Blog: Highest ratios of runs scored to times on base: Following on my earlier post about Yovani Gallardo, here are the players since 1901 with the highest ratios of runs scored to...

• 4/1 Caught Looking: 2011 season: Day No. 1: LEAD OFF The Brewers were seeing Red yesterday afternoon. The comeback kids from 2010 picked up right where they left off last...

• 2/22 Baseball Musings: Five Year PMR, Second Basemen: My five-year survey of fielders using objective PMR continues with second basemen. (You can find all Probabilistic Model of Range...

• 1/31 Baseball Press: Fantasy Prep 2011: Twins Roster Shuffle: Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be relied upon heavily with the Twins in 2011. (AP) As we head into next season, we'll look at middle-tier...

• 11/25 MLBTradeRumors: Rakuten Eagles Sign Kaz Matsui: Kaz Matsui has returned to Japan to join the Rakuten Eagles, according to the Associated Press (via the Denver Post). The Eagles...
• 11/24 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Japanese League | Kazuo Matsui returningThe Rakuten Eagles signed free-agent 2B Kazuo Matsui (Rockies) to an undisclosed deal, Kyodo News reports. ...[+] The Rakuten Eagles signed free-agent 2B Kazuo Matsui (Rockies) to an undisclosed deal, Kyodo News reports.
• 11/20 MLBTradeRumors: Odds & Ends: Matsui, Kawakami, Phillies, Cubs: Links for Saturday... Jason Coskrey of The Japan Times passes along a report indicating that the Rakuten Golden Eagles have...
• 11/10 MLBTradeRumors: Rockies Rumors: Vazquez, Catching: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has the latest Rockies buzz... The Rockies are interested in Javier Vazquez.  Vazquez joins...

• 10/31 MLBTradeRumors: Ranking Mets GMs All-Time: Well, it's official. Sandy Alderson is the 12th General Manager of the New York Mets, bringing joy to the corners of the globe...

• 9/1 Call to the Pen: Call-Ups: Colorado Rockies, Nelson, Eldred, Roe, Escalona, and Kaz Matsui: Once again it is collaborative post time here on Call to the Pen. This month’s topic is September call-ups. To get the ball...

• 6/14 Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness: Off-Day Fun With Numbers: After a disappointing weekend sweep at the hands of the Angels, there’s nothing to look forward to today; the Dodgers are...

• 5/25 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Rockies | Kazuo Matsui signs: The Colorado Rockies signed free-agent 2B Kazuo Matsui (Astros) to an undisclosed minor league deal Tuesday, May 25, according...[+] to The Denver Post's Troy E. Renck. Japanese teams were also expressing interest in the second baseman.
• 5/25 Baseball Press: Under the Radar - NL-Only (Week 8): Remember, Eckstein was a World Series MVP (AP) Each week Baseball Press will be providing some Under the Radar...
• 5/24 MLBTradeRumors: Mutual Interest Between Rockies, Kaz Matsui: The Rockies are interested in Kaz Matsui and the second baseman is open to the idea of returning to the organization, according...
• 5/24 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Rockies | Negotiating with Kazuo Matsui: Updating a previous report, the Colorado Rockies are negotiating with free-agent 2B Kazuo Matsui (Astros) to bring him back on...[+] a minor league deal, according to The Denver Post's Troy E. Renck. A resolution is expected Tuesday, May 25.
• 5/24 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Astros | Kazuo Matsui clears waivers: Houston Astros 2B Kazuo Matsui cleared waivers Monday, May 24, and has become a free agent, according to the Houston Chronicle's...[+] Bernardo Fallas. The Colorado Rockies have shown interest in signing the veteran. The Astros are on the hook for the remainder of Matsui's salary beyond the prorated minimum if he signs with another major league team this year.
• 5/23 MLBTradeRumors: Week In Review: 5/16/10 - 5/22/10: It seems like every week we get closer to seeing what this year's trade deadline will hold. Let's look back at the past seven...
• 5/21 MLBTradeRumors: Odds & Ends: Orioles, Oswalt, Scheppers, Blue Jays: As we prepare for a weekend of watching AL pitchers take ineffective swings, here are a few news items... Dave Cameron...
• 5/21 MLBTradeRumors: Nationals Release Willy Taveras: The Nationals unconditionally released Willy Taveras, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The Nationals...
• 5/21 MLBTradeRumors: Odds & Ends: Conrad, McLouth, Mets, Matsui: Links for Friday, as interleague play begins... Top July 2 prospect Eskarlin Vasquez has questions swirling around...
• 5/21 MLBTradeRumors: The Rockies And Kaz Matsui: The Rockies would like to improve upon Melvin Mora, which is understandable, given Mora's age and bat. But that doesn't...
• 5/21 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Rockies | Interested in Kazuo Matsui: The Colorado Rockies are interested in signing free-agent 2B Kazuo Matsui (Astros) when he clears waivers, according to The Denver...[+] Post's Troy E. Renck.
• 5/20 MLBTradeRumors: Kaz Matsui A Possible Option In Colorado?: MLB.com's Thomas Harding proposes that if Kazuo Matsui clears waivers on Monday and is officially released by Houston, Colorado...
• 5/20 MLBTradeRumors: Astros To Release Kaz Matsui: The Astros have asked waivers on Kaz Matsui and intend to release the infielder, GM Ed Wade said in a team press release. If no...
• 5/20 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Astros | Kazuo Matsui placed on waivers : The Houston Astros placed 2B Kazuo Matsui on waivers Wednesday, May 19, with the intention of granting him his unconditional release,...[+] according to the Houston Chronicle's Zachary Levine.
• 5/19 KFFL.com Hot off the Wire: Astros | Kazuo Matsui slumping: Houston Astros 2B Kazuo Matsui went 0-for-4 Tuesday, May 18, and is now hitless in his last 20 at-bats, according to The Associated...[+] Press.
• 5/19 Baseball Daily Digest: Pacific Perspectives: End of the line for Kaz Matsui?: What do you do with a 34-year-old second baseman hitting .149/.208/.164 in the middle of May for the lowest-scoring team in baseball,...
• 5/5 MLBTradeRumors: If The Astros Become Sellers: The Astros are ten games under .500 and 9.5 games back in the NL Central.  84% of the season remains, so they've got plenty...

• 4/24 MLBTradeRumors: Discussion: Kaz Matsui: Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui is in the final season of a three-year, $16.5MM pact signed in December of 2007.  Matsui's...