Team Japan cleanup hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka doesn't care how he swings the bat. Numbers are subordinate in the mind of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks star, especially in the World Baseball Classic.
Matsunaka wants WBC glory for his country and nothing more than that.
"I wear the 'Hinomaru' uniform to win," the 32-year-old slugger said after Japan's 2-0 win over the Yomiuri Giants on Wednesday at Tokyo Dome. "So it doesn't matter at all for me whether I make contact with the ball with the core of the bat or not. Results are everything."