Matsui is looking pretty smart now.

The 35-year-old designated hitter received the World Series Most Valuable Player award for leading the Yankees to their 27th Major League Baseball title with a 7-3 victory Wednesday over defending champion Philadelphia.

Matsui's achievement is part of an Asian golden age in U.S. sport, coming in the wake of Chinese giant Yao Ming's NBA success, the first major men's golf title for an Asian man by South Korean Yang Yong-Eun at the PGA Championship and Filipino pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao's Stateside boxing breakthrough.

"What a great job Matsui did for us," Yankees standout Nick Swisher said. "He has been coming up clutch for us in situations all year long. He deserved that MVP trophy. There's no doubt about it."

Matsui, nicknamed "Godzilla," batted 8-for-13 (.615) with three home runs and eight runs batted in, six of them in Wednesday's triumph that gave New York a 4-2 victory in the best-of-seven final.

"He looked like he wanted it bad, didn't he?" Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. "Matsui is one of my favorite teammates. He comes ready to play every day. He's a professional."

Matsui matched a World Series record for driving in runs in a single game set by Bobby Richardson of the Yankees in 1960, but the Japanese slugger is the only one to do it under the pressure of a possible title-clinching game.

"He has been great for us in the clutch all year," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

But the mighty performance might have come in Matsui's sayonara swan song with the Yankees.

His four-year contract worth US$52 million expired with the season and Yankee general manager Brian Cashman, who praised Matsui, has made no promise for an offer for 2010.

"He has been a remarkable player," Cashman said. "When he came over from Japan, he ended with a championship. I'm glad he has got one with us too now."

Matsui wants to stay with the Yankees, saying, "I hope it works out in the end. I love New York."

While bad knees have limited Matsui to a designated hitter role rather than an outfielder spot, the Yankees are in somewhat of a tough situation when it comes to Matsui.

How do the Yankees, with baseball's biggest payroll at US$201 million, allow the Most Valuable Player from their first World Series triumph since 2000 leave and sign elsewhere?

Imagine how powerful Japan's Classic squad might have been with Matsui onboard. Now imagine how popular he might be with Japanese clubs much less other U.S. major league clubs.

Matsui, who wears uniform number 55 in tribute to legend Sadaharu Oh's one-season Japan League record of 55 homers, smacked 50 homers in 2002 for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants before making the jump to North America.

"This is what I came over here for," Matsui said through a translator. "Winning the championship means everything to me."