However, Daisuke caused quite a stir when he began a relationship with his current wife, Tomoyo Shibata. The controversy started due to the fact that at the time of the courtship, Dice-K was underage. However, what really infuriated people was that Tomoyo was a popular TV reporter for Nippon Television, the network of the Yomiuri Giants, the rivals of the Seibu Lions and their network, TV Asahi. The rivalry between TV Asahi and Nippon Television is so deep that no baseball game with the Seibu Lions as the home team has ever been allowed to be broadcast on NTV for many decades except for its cable affiliates.

In 2006, baseball as a global sport was redefined with the inaugural World Baseball Classic. 16 countries representing all regions of the world competed in this global event, with major league players of all backgrounds taking spring training off in order to represent their native countries. With the whole world watching, everyone’s eyes were on the American team, Puerto Rican team, and the team from the Dominican Republic to dominate. The team that seemed to fly under the radar until the semifinal game was Japan.

Both Hiroki Kuroda and Daisuke Matsuzaka were selected to play for this prestigious team, being managed by Japanese legend, Sadaharu Oh, the world home run king. However, as what seems to always happen to Hiroki Kuroda, bad luck struck. He was injured getting hit by a comeback line drive off his right hand during a practice game on February 24, forcing him to withdraw from the competition. Hiroki was seen as a very crucial No. 2 pitcher to follow up Dice-K.

However, Dice-K would not need the support. He went 3-0 through the tournament, winning the final game against Cuba while only giving up one run and striking out five. He was also awarded the MVP of the tournament. Now, Daisuke Matsuzaka was a stranger to no one.

When Daisuke Matsuzaka announced through new super agent, Scott Boras, that he would be coming to play in the Major Leagues, a media frenzy erupted. Within 10 days of officially being posted on Nov. 2, the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox all began frivolously recruiting Dice-K, sending representatives to Japan to woo “The Monster” and his monstrous agent.

The Yankees bid $33 million. The Mets bid $40 million. But the Red Sox came out victorious with an astounding bid of $51,111,111. What makes that number even more ridiculous is the fact that at that same time, you could assemble an entire pitching staff composed of the top five starters in ERA, the top five relievers in holds, and the top two closers in saves, and their salaries from the 2006 season would only equal 48.8 million dollars. Why pay so much?

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