Yankees: Former OF Matsui elected to Japanese Hall of Fame
A former Yankees outfielder was elected to the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame on Monday.
Many fans remember Hideki Matsui from his days with the New York Yankees, but he had an extended career in the Japanese Central League for the Yomiuri Giants before coming to Major League Baseball. On Monday, he was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Matsui became the youngest person ever inducted into the Japanese Hall of Fame. He received 336 out of a possible 368 votes for his election, garnering 91.3% of the vote.
Japanese career
Matsui began his professional career at age 19. That first, teenage season, he hit .223/.296/.451, showing immediately the prodigious power he would be known for in his career.
Matsui quickly became known for his “iron man” tendencies, playing in every game. His streak of 1,250 consecutive games is the second-longest in Japanese history. He toiled his first few years with solid, albeit not spectacular, numbers before breaking out in 1996 with his first MVP season.
He would eventually win 3 MVPs in Japan, topping 40 home runs 3 times and 50 home runs in his final season. Matsui topped 30 home runs in his final 7 seasons in Japan.
The Giants were very successful while Matsui was a team leader as well. The team won the Japan series 3 times in 4 trips during Matsui’s decade with the team. He was an All-Star in 9 consecutive seasons.
Earning the nickname “Godzilla” due to his impressive hitting, Matsui tallied a .304/.413/.582 line in his 10 seasons in Japan, hitting 332 home runs.
Yankees career
Matsui joined the Yankees after 2002. He continued his first three seasons with the Yankees to play every game, hitting .297/.370/.484 with 70 home runs in those first three seasons, making two All-Star games. His consecutive games played to start a career is a major league record.
One of his career thrills for Matsui was playing in Tokyo to open the 2004 season, where he nailed this incredible home run:
In May of 2006, he was injured attempting to make a sliding catch where he fractured his wrist, ending his consecutive games streak at 518 games to begin his career. Matsui would miss a chunk of 2008 as well.
In his final season with the Yankees, he was able to help the Yankees not only back to the World Series, but he was stellar in the World Series, earning MVP of the series, hitting .615/.643/1.385 over the 6 games with 3 home runs.
He totaled a .292/.370/.482 line over his 7 years with the Yankees, hitting 140 home runs for the Bronx Bombers. He received MVP votes in both 2004 and 2005.
Post-Yankees MLB time
Matsui left the Yankees as a free agent after the 2009 season and signed with the Angels. He had a successful 2010, hitting .274/.361/.459 with 21 home runs.
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The Angels allowed him to leave in free agency after the season, and he signed with Oakland, but he struggled to produce the same power he’d been known for, hitting .251/.321/.375 with 12 home runs.
Matsui could not get a major league deal after the 2011 season, signing a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. He worked his way up to the major leagues, but his bat wasn’t the same, hitting .147/.214/.221 in 103 plate appearances. He retired in the offseason.
His major league time totaled a .282/.360/.462 line with 175 home runs over 10 seasons. Combined over 20 years of NPB/MLB, he hit .293/.398/.523 with 507 home runs.
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Matsui has been a fixture in the Yankees minor league system and around the game since his retirement, and he’s considered one of the truly humble greats in the game. Congratulations to him on his election!