TOKYO: New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui, one of Japan's most eligible bachelors, will marry a 25-year-old former company worker, media reports said Thursday.

The 33-year-old outfielder, nicknamed "Godzilla" by his fans, met his future wife two years ago through a friend, the reports said.

"I, Hideki Matsui, am getting married. I have decided to spend my whole life with her," Matsui said in a statement released at the Yankees' training camp in Florida, Jiji Press reported.

The slugger was expected to give a press conference later.

The news was immediately greeted in Japan, with even the chief government spokesman wishing him "a very happy wedding."

"I hope he will have a good performance this season benefiting from his marriage," said Nobutaka Machimura, chief cabinet secretary.

Japanese media have pestered Matsui with questions for years on when he would tie the knot. Japan's two other superstars in the US Major Leagues -- Seattle Mariners hitter Ichiro Suzuki and Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka -- are both married.

The Sankei Sports tabloid said Matsui met the woman in the 2006 off-season. They exchanged e-mails and phone calls, and eventually she came on trips to New York where they would dine together and go driving, it said.

"Before long, Matsui became attracted to her personality as well as her discretion and proposed to her," said the tabloid, which ran news of the engagement as a giant banner headline.

Matsui has won wide respect on both sides of the Pacific for his mild manner and hard work ethic, although he once admitted that he had one vice -- an extensive collection of pornography.

Matsui was a three-time most valuable player of Japan's Central League as the clean-up batter of Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants before he signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Yankees.

He played a record 518 consecutive games after his Major League debut until breaking his wrist in play in 2006. His activities were also limited last season due to injury. - AFP/ac