Hideki Matsui

Hideki Matsui
Matsui with the New York Yankees in 2007
Outfielder / Designated hitter
Born: (1974-06-12) June 12, 1974 (age 50) 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
Stats at Baseball Reference
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", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants. 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. He is the only Asian player to win the award in league history. 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.