Angels sign Hideki Matsui for his bat, not his media throng

The Angels got their first taste Wednesday of the media sensation that is Hideki Matsui, with Japanese reporters cramming a stadium interview room a good half an hour before a news conference to introduce the team’s new designated hitter.

Two walls were lined with about 20 television cameras, and when the 35-year-old slugger donned an Angels cap and jersey (No. 55) for the first time, a panoply of camera flashes illuminated the room like a planetarium light show.

“It’s been like this since day one of professional baseball for me, so from that sense, I’m used to it,” Matsui said through an interpreter. “I don’t know how my teammates will react to it, but I want to make sure I don’t inconvenience them.”

As long as Matsui hits like he did for the New York Yankees last season, his new teammates probably won’t mind an occasional distraction.

Matsui, who signed a one-year, $6-million contract with the Angels, comes with a personal interpreter and media coordinator, and his presence will add 10 to 15 Japanese reporters to the team’s traveling media contingent, which numbered three last season.

But as much as the Angels welcome the publicity Matsui will generate in Japan and the potential to attract more Japanese American fans, they did not sign him -- and let popular slugger Vladimir Guerrero go in the process -- because of his global appeal.

They signed him because they believe there is still plenty of life in his bat, which produced a .274 average, 28 home runs and 90 runs batted in last season, and a .615 (eight for 13) average, three homers and eight RBIs in the World Series, a performance that earned Matsui most-valuable-player honors.

And they signed him because in seven years with the Yankees, the left-handed-hitting Matsui had career averages of .292 (batting), .370 (on-base) and .301 (runners in scoring position), hit better against lefties (.294) than righties (.291) and walked almost as often (416) as he struck out (485).

He had 100 RBIs or more in four of seven years.

“He can drive the ball, hit in the clutch, knock in runs, and he has hit lefties better than righties,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Being in the lineup every day, if he maintains his health, he’s going to be an incredibly productive hitter.”

Matsui’s health will depend on how a pair of arthritic knees, one of which required surgery last winter, hold up, and how his knees hold up probably will depend on how much -- or little -- Matsui plays the outfield.

Matsui played all 142 of his games last season at designated hitter, and though Scioscia would prefer to rotate his other three outfielders -- Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera -- through the DH spot and give Matsui an occasional start in left field, he will not force the issue.

“It’s much more important for us to have him in the lineup swinging the bat every day rather than forcing him to play the outfield,” Scioscia said. “That being said, it would make us deeper if he could play the outfield two or three times a week.”

Matsui, who probably will bat fourth or fifth, said Scioscia’s willingness to consider him for the outfield helped sway him toward Anaheim.

“The plan is to work with the organization in spring training and go from there,” Matsui said, when asked about playing the outfield. “My knees have gotten better over the years. . . . To say I have no concerns would not be the right answer. But with maintenance and training, I have kept them strong.”

Interest in Matsui is so high in Japan that several media outlets dispatched reporters from New York to Southern California late last week to watch him work out -- despite none of them knowing exactly where he was training.

Matsui’s agent, Arn Tellem, said he purposely kept the training site a secret.

“During this process, he wanted to focus on making the right decision and begin his early preparation for next year, so the last couple of weeks, he really wanted to have his privacy,” Tellem said.

Interest in Matsui has only grown because of the way he parted ways with the Yankees.

Yomiuri Shimbun reporter Takashi Kayatsu said it would be unthinkable in Japan for a player to spend seven years with one club, be named the MVP of a championship series and not even receive an offer from that club.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Kayatsu said.

Even though Matsui probably will be covered by as many reporters in Anaheim as he was in New York, former Angels pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa said he believed Matsui would feel less pressure in his new surroundings.

“The atmosphere here is completely opposite of that of the Yankees,” Hasegawa said. “It’s really relaxed. If the club is more relaxed, that makes the reporters more relaxed. He should be able to focus more on playing baseball.”

As the Angels welcomed Matsui, they officially severed ties with Guerrero, an offensive force who won American League MVP honors in 2004 but was slowed by age and injury in 2009.

“What Vlad did for this organization, you can’t really quantify,” Scioscia said. “He’ll continue his career, which will be Hall of Fame caliber by the time he’s done. We’re moving forward.”

Said Angels General Manager Tony Reagins: “He gave us an opportunity to win, he was great with the fans . . . we wish him well.”

With Matsui signed, “We feel like we’ve filled our needs on the offensive side,” Reagins said. The GM hopes to add another pitcher to a staff that lost ace John Lackey to the Boston Red Sox.

“We feel real good about the club,” Reagins said, “but we still have some opportunities we’re going to explore.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Times staff writer Dylan Hernandez contributed to this report.