Born: (1974-06-12) June 12, 1974 (age 49) Neagari, Ishikawa, Japan
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Professional debut
NPB: May 1, 1993, for the Yomiuri Giants
MLB: March 31, 2003, for the New York Yankees
Last appearance
NPB: October 30, 2002, for the Yomiuri Giants
MLB: July 22, 2012, for the Tampa Bay Rays
NPB statistics
Batting average
.304
Home runs
332
Runs batted in
889
MLB statistics
Batting average
.282
Home runs
175
Runs batted in
760
Teams
Yomiuri Giants (1993–2002)
New York Yankees (2003–2009)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2010)
Oakland Athletics (2011)
Tampa Bay Rays (2012)
Career highlights and awards
NPB
9× All-Star (1994–2002)
3× Japan Series champion (1994, 2000, 2002)
3× Central League MVP (1996, 2000, 2002)
Japan Series MVP (2000)
8× Best Nine Award (1995–2002)
Matsutaro Shoriki Award (2000)
MLB
2× All-Star (2003, 2004)
World Series champion (2009)
World Series MVP (2009)
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction
2018
Vote
91.3%
Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜, Matsui Hideki, born June 12, 1974), nicknamed "Godzilla",[1] is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB).[2] He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Matsui played the first 10 seasons of his career in Japan for NPB's Yomiuri Giants. During that span, he was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Japan Series champion, and three-time Central League Most Valuable Player (MVP). In 2003, Matsui transitioned to playing in MLB in North America, and spent his first seven seasons there with the New York Yankees. As a Yankee, he was a two-time All-Star and 2009 World Series champion, for which he was named the World Series MVP. After becoming a free agent, Matsui had one-year stints with three other MLB teams: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays. On July 28, 2013, Matsui signed a one-day minor league contract with the Yankees in order to officially retire with the team.
During his 20-year playing career, Matsui hit 507 home runs—332 in NPB and 175 in MLB. In 2018, Matsui was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
^Leitch, Will (October 23, 2021). "One great free-agent signing for every club". MLB.com. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
^Martin, Dan (December 27, 2012). "Former Yankees slugger Matsui retires". New York Post. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
HidekiMatsui (松井 秀喜, MatsuiHideki, born June 12, 1974), nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter...
Series. Of these players, So Taguchi has won the most with two and HidekiMatsui is the only one to win the World Series MVP Award. The 2007 World Series...
Japanese-born player with at least 100 homers in the majors, trailing only HidekiMatsui with 175 and Suzuki with 117. Ohtani also joined Babe Ruth as the only...
leading 4–1. Nomo loaded the bases, but was able to retire his countryman HidekiMatsui to strand all three runners. But he surrendered back-to-back homers...
Utley hit two home runs. In Game 2, solo home runs by Mark Teixeira and HidekiMatsui helped the Yankees win by a score of 3–1. After a rain delayed start...
politician HidekiMatsui (松井 秀喜, born 1974), Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsutake (松武 秀樹, born 1951), Japanese electronic musician Hideki Matsuoka...
first, Gary Sheffield doubled with two outs before HidekiMatsui drove him in with a double, then Matsui scored on Bernie Williams's single. In the third...
Matsui (松井 えり菜, born 1984), Japanese artist Fuyuko Matsui (松井 冬子, born 1974) Japanese artist Gorō Matsui (松井 五郎, born 1957), Japanese lyricist Hideki...
one unearned run on a single by Derrek Lee in the ninth. The Yankees' HidekiMatsui hit a three-run home run in the first inning on a 3–0 pitch, becoming...
Hideki Tojo (東條 英機, Tōjō Hideki, pronounced [toːʑoː çideki] ; 30 December 1884 – 23 December 1948) was a Japanese politician, military leader and convicted...
Iwane Matsui (松井 石根, Matsui Iwane, July 27, 1878 – December 23, 1948) was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary...
re-signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees. December 19, 2002: HidekiMatsui was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees. December 19, 2002:...
Professional Baseball players such as Shohei Ohtani, Ichiro Suzuki, HidekiMatsui, Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh are regarded as national stars, and...
slugger HidekiMatsui, former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima, former teammate So Taguchi, and former Seibu Lions infielder Kazuo Matsui and...
general manager Alex Rodriguez, special advisor to the general manager HidekiMatsui, special advisor to the general manager Stump Merrill, special assistant...
during the record-setting stretch, which lasted from 1885 to 1890. HidekiMatsui assembled a consecutive games streak of 1,769 games combined between...
from the previous year. For example, in 2004, there were statues of HidekiMatsui, the famous baseball player who at that time played for the New York...
Molitor was also the first designated hitter to win the World Series MVP. HidekiMatsui, the 2009 winner, batted in six runs in the sixth game of the 2009 World...
the MV Brigitte Bardot A nickname given to Japanese baseball player HidekiMatsui Jira (software), a software product developed by Atlassian Godzilla...
Award, while playing 137 of 160 games (85.63%) as a designated hitter. HidekiMatsui (2009), David Ortiz (2013), and Jorge Soler (2021) were the only other...
Japan, Okajima chose to go by the nickname "Okaji" instead of "Hideki" because HidekiMatsui had preceded him on the Giants. Okajima became the team's closer...
runs by a Japanese-born player. He broke the record that was held by HidekiMatsui. Pete Alonso (NYM): Hit his 200th career home run against the St. Louis...
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