NEW YORK — Hideki Matsui has the most curious habit at the plate. He never takes a practice swing once he steps into the batter's box.

He saves all those meaty cuts for when they count.

Matsui did all sorts of damage last night, setting a record with six RBIs in a World Series clincher and leading the New York Yankees over the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3.

His performance won Game 6 — and clinched the MVP trophy.

Matsui became the first Japanese national to win the award that started in 1955. He homered, doubled and singled, highlighting a Series in which he hit .615 with three home runs and eight RBIs.

"It's awesome," Matsui said through a translator. "Unbelievable. I'm surprised myself."

Standing on a podium in shallow center field, Matsui waved his new championship hat and shook hands with commissioner Bud Selig. Matsui won three titles in Japan and was eager to celebrate his first in the Bronx.

"I guess it's hard to make a comparison," said Matsui. "When I was in Japan, that was the ultimate goal. Being here, winning the World Series, becoming world champions, that's what you strive for here.

"You could say that I guess this is the best moment of my life right now."

Matsui's two-run drive off Pedro Martinez in the second inning put the Yankees ahead for good. Nicknamed "Godzilla" back home, Matsui sent a shot to right field that banged off an advertisement on the facing of the second deck — fittingly, it was a sign for the Japanese company Komatsu, which makes mining and construction equipment.

Matsui added a two-run single in the third and lined a two-run double off the right-center field wall in the fifth. The giant videoboard in center field showed fans holding Japanese signs and while the sellout crowd roared, he stood placidly at second base.

Fans cheered when Matsui's feat, matching Bobby Richardson's 1960 mark for RBIs in any Series game, was posted on the scoreboard. No one, however, had ever delivered such a bounty in the game that wrapped up a championship.

Matsui drew a standing ovation when he came to bat in the seventh, and chants of "MVP! MVP!" bounced around the ballpark.

"He hit everything we threw up there," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

Watching Game 6 on TV in Tokyo, Masanori Murakami echoed that sentiment. He was the first Japanese player in the majors, in 1964 with San Francisco, and fully appreciated the magnitude of Matsui's honor.

"Ichiro Suzuki has had many accomplishments, but they've all been in the regular season. As the first Japanese to win an MVP in the World Series, this is a great accomplishment for Matsui and will have a huge impact," Murakami said.

An outfielder by trade, Matsui, 35, hasn't played the field since June 15, 2008, because of bad knees. He hit .274 this year with 28 homers and 90 RBIs, and wasn't much of a force in the AL playoffs against Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels.

That changed against the defending champion Phillies.

This year wrapped up Matsui's $52 million, four-year contract. It remains to be seen if the aging Yankees will re-sign Matsui.

"I hope so. I hope it works out that way," he said. "I love New York, I love the Yankees."