A Whole New Ballgame

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, August 26, 2003

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

The shared goal for Byung-Hyun Kim and Hideki Matsui is a fairly simple one.

"I'm trying to learn more English so I can commnunicate with my teammates," said Kim, the Red Sox' closer.

"I would like to be able to speak to my teammates at least about baseball," said Matsui, the Yankees' left fielder.

Those sentiments, though, were not expressed in English. They were uttered in their respective native tongues: Korean for Kim, Japanese for Matsui. They were relayed through an interpreter.

AP photo Byung-Hyun Kim of Korea, pitching against the Pirates earlier this season says he understands half of what he hears, and can speak English on simple terms with his teammates.

"In the beginning, it was all fun when I came over to the States," said Kim, 24, a native of Gwangju, Korea, who signed with the Arizona organization in 1999. "But more and more as time went by it was more difficult for me, more stressful, because I was from a different cultural background and people didn't understand my different culture. I couldn't blend in. I was the only Asian on the team. The Latin players could see another Latin player and they could get together and communicate in their native tongue. American players could communicate with American players. But I was the only Korean. That was very difficult.

"It was most difficult when the players would be joking around and they were able to express their feelings. I didn't have anyone to talk to. I couldn't explain what I wanted to say and that was very frustrating and stressful at times."

And sometimes, the language barrier becomes an on-field problem.

Kim was hit in the ankle by a line drive this April while pitching for Arizona, but -- because, he said, Koreans keep their feelings to themselves -- he didn't tell anyone he was in pain. His pitching began to suffer because of the injury, yet he never complained.

Eventually the pain became so severe that he told the Diamondbacks. But because he hadn't said anything to that point, people began speculating that Kim was simply making an excuse for pitching poorly.

The problem was smoothed over prior to Kim's trade to the Red Sox in late May. In Boston, Kim says he has continued to try to learn English. He watches movies, in English and in Korean, when he's away from the park. He has become more adept at taking cab rides and ordering food in restaurants, using English. He recently opened a bank account in Boston on his own.

AP photo Japan's Hedeki Matsui studied English while growing up, but it hasn't helped much in his first year in the U.S.

He says he now understands about half of what he hears, and can speak English on simple terms with his teammates.

Still, for the most part, he will lean on interpreter Chang-Ho Lee when he needs to.

"It's hard for me to fully express myself and I don't want other people to misunderstand me and create some problems," said Kim.

Matsui studied English while growing up in Japan. That experience, though, hasn't helped him much in this, his first year in the United States after becoming a legend while playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.

"At school they pretty much focus on writing and grammar, so it's very different when I actually came here and tried to speak it," said Matsui, 29. "It's very difficult when you go into the environment and try and use the language. But the English conversations away from the field, like going to restaurants ordering food, that's okay at that level. I think I've been able to cope."

Matsui likes listening to American music, picking up a little English as a by-product. He is able to indulge his craving for Japanese food in such cities as New York, but it's not as easily available in other cities, which has been an adjustment for him. He's also going after his driver's license.

"They actually have exams in Japanese here, so that will be fine," said Matsui.

Not all players who come from the Far East have to rely on interpreters. All-Star reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa of the Seattle Mariners speaks English very well.

Hasegawa, 35, joined the Anaheim Angels in 1997, becoming the fourth Japanese-born player to appear in a Major League game. He was determined to learn English.

"That's because I wanted to live here. Japan is a great country, too, but this is the best country," said Hasegawa, a native of Kobe, Japan, who signed with Seattle as a free agent in 2002.

Hasegawa did not have an interpreter when he came over. And that was fine with him.

"I think that helped me learn faster. I wasn't like Matsui or (Seattle star outfielder) Ichiro (Suzuki). When they came over they were expected to do well right away. They were getting big money. I didn't get big money," said Hasegawa.

So Hasegawa, who lives in Newport Beach, Calif., plugged away at learning the language, watching movies and television shows to help him with dialogue and vocabulary.

"I studied English in Japan, but what we learned and the native English are different," said Hasegawa. "People tried to talk to me that first year and I couldn't answer. I talk a lot usually, but that was tough."

Now, it's a lot easier for Hasegawa and others coming over from the Far East. He can find Japanese food and he's now a bilingual convewrsationalist.

"In baseball, conversation (amongst teammates) is a most important thing because it's a team sport," said Hasegawa. "It probably took me three years to be comfortable, but I knew I had to learn the language. I'm still not totally comfortable. I want to learn more."