Hideki Matsui

At 49 years old, Hideki Matsui has this physical status:

Hideki Matsui (Matsui Hideki), born June 12, 1974, is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB).

He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Matsui spent his first ten seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.

He was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Japan Series champion, and a three-time Central League Most Valuable Player during this time (MVP).

Matsui moved to baseball in North America in 2003 and spent his first seven seasons with the New York Yankees.

He was a two-time All-Star and 2009 World Series champion, for which he was dubbed the World Series MVP as a Yankee.

Matsui spent one-year with three other MLB franchises: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, and the Tampa Bay Rays before becoming a free agent.

Matsui signed a one-day minor league deal with the Yankees on July 28, 2013 in order to officially retire from the team. Matsui had 577 home runs in NPB and 175 in MLB over his 20-year playing career.

In 2018, Matsui was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early life

Hideki Matsui was born in Neagari, Ishikawa, Japan (later merged into Nomi, Ishikawa). Matsui batted right-handed as a child, according to an interview with YES Network's CenterStage. However, Matsui was such a good hitter when he first started playing with his older brother and his relatives that his embarrassed brother insisted that he bat left-handed or avoid playing with them. Matsui was soon a dominant left-handed batter, who then batting left-handed.

Matsui was recruited by Seiryo High School in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, a Western Honshu baseball powerhouse. Matsui played in four National High School Baseball Tournaments at Koshien Stadium (once in the spring and three times in the summer). He won five straight walks in a game at Koshien in 1992, making him a national topic of discussion. The deliberate walks were deemed overstimulent and unsportsmanlike, but Matsui's team lost, but the scheme was successful. The reaction of Matsui to the planned walks was widely reported by the media. "Matsui's stoic, emotionless behavior during those at-bats drew adoring comments from tournament officials and journalists alike," author Robert Whiting wrote. A representative of the High School Federation declared at the end of the tournament that "All students should learn from Matsui's attitude."

Personal life

Matsui personally gave $500,000 to charity for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. He also donated $620,000 to help victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan's Thoku region. Matsui and his former colleague Derek Jeter held a baseball charity function on March 21, 2015, at the Tokyo Dome to assist children impacted by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. A baseball clinic and a home run derby between Matsui and Jeter were among the activities.

On March 27, 2008, Matsui revealed to the world that he had married in a private ceremony in New York. His bride's name was not confirmed, but it was announced that she was 25 years old and had been "currently employed in a "reputable position" in a "respective industry." They met in Japan after the 2006 off-season.

35 Japanese journalists were assigned to cover Matsui's playing career in the United States.

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Professional career

The Yomiuri Giants recruited Matsui in the first round after high school. He was given the uniform number 55, the single-season home run record held by Sadaharu Oh.

Matsui's first three seasons were unspectacular. His breakout season came in 1996, when he batted.314 with 38 home runs and 99 RBIs. Matsui, a three-time MVP of the Japanese Central League (1996, 2000, and 2002), a Japanese Central League (1996, 2000, and 2002). He played in nine straight games and led the league in home runs and RBIs three times (1998, 2000, and 2002). In 2002, he reached his low single season record for home runs, finishing his career in Japan. Matsui has played in ten seasons in Japan, totaling 1268 games played, 1390 runs, 332 home runs, 889 RBIs, a.304 batting average, and a.582 slugging percentage. He had a streak of 1,250 games in a row, the second longest in Japan.

His first visit to the Japan Series was well-known. Matsui was first announced to the American media in 1994-95 Major League Baseball's strike, as media outlets were covering the event as "the" Fall Classic was referred to in Sports Illustrated.

Matsui earned the nickname "Godzilla" in Japan. The name derisive in origins, referring to Matsui's skin problems early in his career, but he has since come to showcase his striking. He appeared in the film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla in 2002.

Matsui turned down a $64 million, six-year contract from the Yomiuri Giants in 2001, the highest in NPB history.

On December 19, 2002, Matsui agreed to a three-year, $21 million contract with the Yankees. His signing with the Yankees was held in Tokyo, and many journalists and photographers followed him to the MLB from Tokyo.

Matsui made his MLB debut against the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada on March 31, 2003. He became the first Japanese player to make his MLB debut in Canada. In his first MLB at-bat, he hit a single run in his first MLB game, and in his first game at Yankee Stadium, he became the first Yankee to reach a grand slam. With 16 home runs and 106 RBIs, Matsui went on to finish at.287. With eight outfielders, he led the AL in mistakes by an outfielder.

In Game Two of the 2003 World Series against the Florida Marlins, he became the first Japanese player to hit a home run in the World Series in the postseason.

Matsui barely won the Rookie of the Year Award to ngel Berroa in a turbulent election after two writers, Jim Souhan and Bill Ballou, refused to include him on their ballots due to his age. George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner, pointed out that this had not barred any writer from voting for Ichiro Suzuki or Kazuhiro Sasaki, both of whom had competed in the NPB for several years and were the second oldest players to have been honored, to have been robbed.

Matsui's second season on record, with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs. In 2004, he was the American League All-Star Final Vote champion.

Matsui set career records in 2005 with a.305 average and 116 RBIs.

Matsui signed a four-year contract for $52 million, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki as the highest-paid Japanese player in baseball, and securing his position with the Yankees through 2009.

Matsui's third season with eight home runs and 29 RBIs after missing most of the season due to a wrist injury.

When he went up to bat, Matsui retained the word "Godzilla" and the song "Godzilla" by Blue yster Cult was also popular.

During a game against the Mariners on May 6, 2007, Matsui recorded his 2,000th hit in combined hits in NPB and MLB, earning him a spot in Japan's Golden Players Club, which is reserved for players who have hit 2,000 hits, have 200 wins, or have 250 saves. Ral Ibaez, who lost track due to the sun's, was originally considered an error, but Matsui was hit by a scoring change. Matsui went 2-for-4 on the day; the second attack (#2001) was a clean single to right field. Matsui was the first Japanese player to reach 100 home runs in MLB history on August 5, 2007. In the third inning, Gil Meche of the Kansas City Royals scored the home run.

He was third in the AL with 10 sacrifice flies and ninth in walks per strikeout (1.00). In the winter of 2007, it was widely reported in the media that the Yankees were in talks to sell Matsui to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for one or two pitchers. No contract ever materialized, but Matsui stayed with the Yankees.

Matsui's grand slam on his 34th birthday helped the Yankees win by 4–1 over the A's on June 12, 2008. Matsui went on the disabled list with knee pains later this month. He returned against the Toronto Blue Jays on August 19 and became the team's everyday designated hitter. Matsui underwent knee surgery at Yankee Stadium after his last game at Yankee Stadium. Matsui batted.294 against right-handed pitchers in his career, and.295 against lefties in 2008.

Matsui's 35th birthday was on June 12, 2009, he recorded a three-run home run, giving the Yankees a 7–6 lead over the New York Mets in the sixth inning. With a walk-off solo home run against Jim Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles on July 20, the Yankees won their fourth in a row after the All Star break, their ninth walk-off victory, and a tie for first place in the division with the Boston Red Sox. In the Yankees' rare 20–11 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park a month later, Matsui hit two home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs. Lou Gehrig, the first Yankee hitter to drive in seven runs in a game at Fenway Park since Lou Gehrig in 1930. Matsui will reach two home runs in just seven games two games later. Matsui was selected by fans as the Month's Best Performer of the Month by Pepsi for August, based on his results during the month. Matsui's home run of the season was his 26th home run of the season on September 19, beating the Yankees' record for home runs by a designated hitter in a single season, which was previously held by Don Baylor.

Matsui helped the Yankees beat the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in six games, hitting.615 (8-for-13) with three home runs and 8 RBI, with two RBI, including tying Bobby Richardson's single-game World Series record (Game 3 of the 1960 World Series) in Game 6. Matsui only started the three games in Philadelphia since the designated hitter position was not used in the three games; despite this, his achievement earned him the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. He was the first Japanese-born to win the award as well as the first player to win it as a full-time designated hitter in the World Series. Dan Gladden (1987 and 1991, Minnesota) as the first players to have won championships in both North America and Japan, respectively. Matsui became the third player in Major League history to bat.500 or more and walk three home runs in the same World Series, with only Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Matsui decided to a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim worth $6.5 million on December 16, 2009. He told Yomiuri Shimbun that he "loved the Yankees the best" but that he no longer felt valued, and that, "the Yankees were nowhere prepared [in terms of labor conditions]." He made the decision to join the Angels as soon as possible. "I had a definite wish of seeing me," he said. "They've also admitted that I want to try fielding." In the Angels cleanup spot on Opening Day 2010, Matsui went 2-for-4 with a home run. He had a.274 batting average, 21 home runs, and 84 RBI while playing in 145 games for the Angels. Following the close of the season, Matsui returned to free agent status, and the Angels announced on November 23, 2010 that they did not provide him salary arbitration.

Matsui signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics worth $4.25 million for the 2011 season on December 14, 2010. Matsui's career began with a 2,500 (between NPB and MLB) at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum against the Seattle Mariners on April 3, 2011, and Matsui's career came to a close conclusion against the Detroit Tigers on July 20, 2011.

Matsui signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on April 30, 2012. On May 15, 2012, he joined the Durham Bulls, the Rays' Triple-A affiliate. The Rays had called Matsui up for a game against the Chicago White Sox on May 28, 2012. Mike Mussina, his ex teammate, chose uniform number 35 when joining the Rays due to his favored number 55 belonging to pitcher Matt Moore. Matsui hit a two-run home run on the first pitch of his second at bat against the Chicago White Sox on May 29, 2012.

Nevertheless, Matsui's hitting was unimpressive over the next two months, as he hit a.147 batting average. On July 25, 2012, he was announced for service by the Rays and was released on August 1. Matsui made it to ten top-tier professional seasons in both America (MLB) and Japan (NPB), becoming the first player to do so in history.

Matsui came to an end in 2013 after signing a one-day deal with the New York Yankees. Before their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 28, the Yankees held a service to honor Matsui.

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