It’s hard to believe that Hideki Matsui is just about to wrap up his 7th season in pinstripes. The three-time MVP of the Japanese Central League came over to the states as a free agent prior to the 2003 season, signing for just $21M over three years. He introduced himself to New Yorkers by slugging a grand slam in the 2003 home opener, his very first game in front of the Yankee faithful. Although he lost out to Angel Berroa for the 2003 Rookie of the Year Award, the team can’t complain about the return on the investment at all, as Godzilla played in every single game over those three seasons and compiled a .297-.370-.484 batting line in that time.
After proving to be supremely durable and so dependable at the plate, the Yanks couldn’t afford to let Matsui walk as a free agent after the 2005. They brought him back on a four year, $52M deal, but Hideki battled injuries in years one and three of that deal. He broke his wrist on a fluke play in 2006, landing the wrong way as he slid for a ball in the outfield. Matsui’s string of 1,768 consecutive games played came to a sudden halt, as did his Major League record of 518 consecutive games played to start his big league career. All those years of playing every day on the turf in Japan started to take it’s toll on Matsui’s knees, and he missed considerable time in 2008. Despite all that, Matsui still hit .291-.372-.469 in the first three years of that four year deal.
For the first time in his career, Matsui entered the 2009 season as a bit of a question mark. No one was sure how his knees would hold up or if he’d even be able to play the field at all. While he hasn’t been able to roam the outfield, and while his knees have acted up from time to time, Matsui has been nothing short of tremendous as the Yanks’ every day designated hitter. Among DH’s with at least 200 plate appearances, Matsui ranks second in OBP (.365), second in SLG (.521), first in OPS (.886), first in homers (25), first in RBI (82), first in total bases (207), and first in BB/K (0.87). His overall line of .277-.369-.509 gives him his best OPS over a full season since 2004, and of course, there’s the big hits.
If he’s not busy ripping walk-off homers like he did against the Orioles on July 20th, then he’s probably preoccupied with launching two homers and driving in seven runs against the Red Sox like he did on August 21st. Matsui’s a pretty quite and unassuming guy, so maybe he’ll just hit a two-run homer to the tie the game while someone else gets the walk-off glory, like last night. And amazingly enough, Matsui has continued to pound lefthanders again this year (.958 OPS vs LHP, .855 vs RHP), something he’s done consistently throughout his career. The guy is just a hitting mahcine.
We don’t know what the future holds for the marriage between Matsui and the Yankees, as the team wants to get younger and more athletic while Godzilla gets older and couldn’t be any more immobile. Whether or not you want to see him back next year (see the poll below), let’s take this chance to thank Matsui for all he has done for the Yanks. All the big hits, the consistency, the quiet professionalism, the whole nine. Thanks, Hideki.
Photo Credit: Robert Beck, SI
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