FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Daisuke Matsuzaka circus came to town Sunday afternoon and appropriately enough, one of its performances was held under the big top.

Another sellout crowd of 7,957 fans jammed into all 7,575 seats and took up whatever standing room space was available at City of Palms Park to witness Boston’s Japanese import pitch against the Baltimore Orioles.

The important statistical numbers from the 26-year-old righthander’s third spring training start are 65, 18, 4, 6, 4, 3, 0, 3, 2 and 3.86. Those translate into 65 pitches thrown, 18 batters faced, four innings, six hits, four total runs, three earned runs, zero walks, three strikeouts, two home runs and a 3.86 overall ERA in what would end up as a 5-3 loss.

Yet there were other numbers, bigger numbers, associated with the Far East free agent acquisition’s outing, and they had little to do with the $51.1 million posting fee for exclusive negotiating rights or the six-year, $52 million contract he signed Dec. 14.

These numbers have more to do with the legions of print, broadcast and internet media members following Boston’s latest international cultural sensation wherever he goes.

The Red Sox issued 120 media credentials to Japanese print, broadcast, and Internet reporters the first week of spring training. The volume has leveled off a bit the last week to about 60, according to Red Sox vice-president of media relations John Blake.

Matsuzaka hadn’t even set foot inside the big tent located just outside the left-field corner of the park for the 3:35 p.m. press conference and it was already standing room only. Exactly 93 reporters, writers, broadcasters and columnists descended on the tent as Matsuzaka arrived and wasted little time before virtually surrounding him.

At times, it was impossible to see any part of the 6-foot, 187-pound pitcher through the human curtain from as little as eight feet away. There were at least 20 audio recorders – five held by one man – trained in his general direction from the front as many Japanese journalists literally sat in front of him like preschoolers during show-and-tell. There were another 10 aimed at the loudspeakers set up on either side of him to broadcast Matsuzaka’s answers.

A bank of six video cameras were trained on him like a battery of heavy guns engaged in a siege and all eyes were on him as reporters strained to hear his answers amidst the constant whirring and clicking of dozens of cameras. The constant barrage of flash bulbs made this 15-minute Q and A session seem more like the red- carpet walk at the Oscars.

The protocol wasn’t too complicated. Questions asked in Japanese were answered by Matsuzaka, also in Japanese. An interpreter then repeated the question in English followed by Matsuzaka’s translated response. Questions asked in English were translated by the interpreter to Matsuzaka, he then answered, and his answer was translated into English.

It was an obvious learning experience for everyone involved in Sunday’s game, media and players alike.

“Yes, in the third and fourth innings, I was definitely throwing high up in the zone,” Matsuzaka said. “Not every pitch was a high fastball or high slider, but judging from what I experienced, throwing high fastballs and high sliders can tend to be a little bit dangerous.”

Virtually unknown designated hitter John Knott ripped one of those high fastballs for a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the third inning. Little-known first baseman Jason Dubois hit another for a two-run homer in the fourth.

Despite the mistakes, Matsuzaka remained unfazed.

“The fact they hit a couple home runs off me is not something I’m terribly worked up about,” he said.

If not already obvious, the choice of press conference locations for Matsuzaka compared to those by team captain Jason Varitek and manager Terry Francona affirmed Matsuzaka’s celebrity status.

Varitek and Francona addressed about 18 members of the media from a small utility room inside the park near the locker room once the Daisuke drama was over.

“He made a couple mistakes, but he’s coming along very well,” said Varitek. “It’s a good situation to work through. We didn’t execute the pitches exactly the way we wanted to.

Varitek is encouraged by his improving communication with Matsuzaka, especially their baseball communication.

“It’s very good,” Varitek said. “Every single time it gets better and better. He’s doing a good job of learning the language.”

Francona was looking forward to seeing him on the mound for a longer duration and was happy with the way Matsuzaka responded to some adversity after not yielding a run in his first seven innings this spring.

“I guess it was inevitable he would give up a run,” Francona said with a chuckle. “The big thing is we’re trying to get to know this guy and it’s harder for him and [new reliever] Hideki [Okajima] because they don’t speak the language.

“They’ve got a lot of people who want their time and I understand my responsibilities, but one of them isn’t to overwhelm these guys.”

Good thing. The media multitudes are handling that all by themselves.

Williams’ welcome

Visitors to City of Palms Park are being greeted by a familiar face this spring in the form of a statue of Ted Williams in the middle of the plaza at the corner of Edison Avenue and Broadway in Fort Myers.

The statue, which is located near the park entrance, was donated to the facility by Dave McCarthy of the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. It’s identical to the one that stands outside Gate B at Fenway Park in Boston.

Red Sox Hall of Fame member and special assignment instructor Johnny Pesky led a delegation of Red Sox and Lee County (Fla.) officials at the unveiling before the first spring training game of the season Feb. 28.

Comfortable, confident Curt

Curt Schilling could barely contain his happiness after his most recent outing of the spring season Thursday. Boston’s 40-year-old starting pitcher threw four innings of two-hit ball while striking out two batters and walking one.

“I felt very, very good. I threw one horrifically bad pitch today and that was a 3-2 changeup to [Torii] Hunter,” Schilling said. “It just didn’t work and it was a ball.”

Schilling took the loss in a 1-0 decision against Minnesota, which started ace lefthander Johan Santana against him, but that was of little concern in light of his performance.

“I think I feel like I’m way ahead of where I’ve been in spring the last two seasons,” he said. “Today was kind of a nice surprise in terms of how my legs and my body felt, compared to the other day. The last two starts I think I’ve gotten incrementally better and I feel stronger. I have good command and velocity.”

Schilling has extra motivation for having another strong year since his contract is up at the end of the season. So far, he’s very optimistic.

“That’s one of the big things for me about pitching on three days’ rest and four days’ rest in spring training is that when I go from three days’ rest – and I feel as good as I did on three days’ rest this time – to four days’ rest, mentally I get a little pick-me-up as well,” he explained. “Hopefully I continue to feel a little better each time.”

Sox get a Bill

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots vice-president of player personnel Scott Pioli visited City of Palms Park to take in the Sox game Sunday.

Both men visited with Red Sox officials in the main building as well as players and coaches on the bench during the game.

“Scott came early and I got a chance to visit with him, which I really enjoyed, but then Scott looked like he got a little busy today and started working, so Bill jumped up and took the second seat,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “It was very enjoyable.”

Francona was asked if he got any inside scoop on what kind of moves the Patriots, who have been very active during this free agency phase of the season, might be making.

“I’d have to kill you,” Francona said with a grin. “I actually did get some inside stuff, but I’m not telling or he might never come back and sit there again.”

Francona said he and Belichick talked about the different cultures of baseball and football and how there are so many similarities between the two.

“It wasn’t so much strategy as how the two cultures are similar, but they’re not,” Francona said. “That was interesting to hear what he had to say, and I think it was the same way for him.”

Belichick and Pioli weren’t the only honored guests Sunday as Maine native and internationally known author Stephen King paid a visit to the park as well.