HOMAGE TO GODZILLA

It is uncommon to get to watch a baseball player that plays his heart out and does not stop until he wins. It is those gladiators that get you pumped for the game, knowing that you will get 110% from them when the game or the series is on the line. On Sunday, July 28, 2013, one of those gladiators – Hideki Matsui – came home to finish his career as a Yankee. What a career it was!

By the time the Yankees signed him in the 2002/2003 offseason, he had already played 9 years for the Yomiuri Giants and established himself as Godzilla – a hitting machine that hit for power (regularly hitting close to 40 homers per 140 game season) and average (career .304 batting average). Therefore, it was no surprise that at age 29, Matsui continued his hitting ways. His average hovered between .280 and .300, and it was his consistency that could be counted on. He rarely had slumps, finding ways to reach base and moving runners over even when he was not hitting well. Only twice during his time with the Yankees did he fail to reach base for more than three consecutive games. When you think about how long an average player can sit in a slump, that statistic is just amazing. He never had an outburst or was involved in anything that would harm the team’s reputation or his own – a consummate professional.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about watching Hideki Matsui play was his ability to dial it up when the opposition was of premier quality. The Yankees reached the playoffs six times in Matsui’s seven years with the team. In the 6 ALDS he played, his slash line was .261/.365/.443. In 3 ALCS, it was .333/.389/.556. In the two World Series he played in, it was .389/.463/.750. Notice how the numbers keep climbing as the stakes get higher, and as the opposing pitching gets better? Those World Series numbers were against pitchers named Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, Cole Hamels, Brad Penny, and Josh Beckett – all premier pitchers in their day. Against these pitchers, in October, he had a combined OPS of 1.213. That is the definition of clutch. He was the definition of clutch. Most of us agree that without Hideki Matsui, we may not have won the 2009 World Series.

This past Sunday, in his usual calm and humble demeanor, and a smile on his face, he rode into Yankee Stadium and signed a contract to be a member of the New York Yankees for one day. On the final “day” of his baseball career, it allowed him to say that he finished his career with the Yankees. From the first day in the Bronx, when he hit that grand slam, to his final day when he went 3 for 4 with a homer to help defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6, he showed what it means to be a Yankee. We were blessed to witness it.

 
 --Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row  
   
 

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