Moving to the major leagues won't be the first big change Japanese star Kazuo Matsui has had to make in his baseball career.

Matsui, who agreed to a three-year deal with the New York Mets in December, has made a habit of accepting new challenges.

"When I became a free agent, I decided I wanted to become a greater baseball player," Matsui told reporters Wednesday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. "And that's why I decided to take my game to the world stage."