Hideki Matsui Announces His Retirement From Baseball

Here is big headline about another Japanese baseball player. In New York yesterday Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜), two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, announced his decision to retire from baseball.

This is kind of a meaningful story to me because I got to watch his career take off when I first lived in Japan. In the early 1990s I remember watching him on Japanese TV when he was still in high school, playing at Koshien Stadium at the annual summer baseball tournaments. He was obviously a rising star in baseball; everyone watched and talked about him. I just didn’t know at the time that he would become an admired athlete in both Japan and the United States.

Matsui was born on June 12, 1974 in Neagari, Ishikawa, and grew up playing baseball with his older brother and friends.  He was such a good hitter that his brother made him bat left-handed. Matsui then became an overpowering left-handed batter, though he would throw a baseball with his right hand as an outfielder.

Matsui was recruited by Seiryo High School in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, a Honshu Prefecture school known for its high profile baseball team. During his high school years, Matsui played in four National High School Baseball Tournaments at Koshien Stadium.  In 1992, he drew five intentional walks in a game at Koshien. This was quite controversial. The intentional walks were thought to be unsportsmanlike. The strategy was effective though; Matsui's team lost that game and was eliminated from the tournament. His reaction to the intentional walks made the news. It was reported that Matsui was calm and emotionless.  He didn’t take it personally.  His demeanor was highly praised by everyone – fans, tournament officials, and news reporters.  At the end of the tournament, someone with the High School Federation stated all students should model Matsui's good attitude. After high graduation he ws drafted by the Yomiuri Giants, led by the great manager Shigeo Nagashima. He played on the Giants team for ten years.

In December 2002 Matsui signed on with the New York Yankees. In his first game at Yankee Stadium, the 2003 home opening game, he hit a grand slam home run - the first Yankee ever to do so.  He played with the Yankees for seven seasons and did very well.  On August 5, 2007 Matsui became the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball history to hit 100 home runs. In the summer of 2008 Matsui began to experience knee pain. From that time on, the physical issue affected his ability to play.  He eventually signed three consecutive one-year contracts afterwards, with the Los Angeles Angels, the Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays.  Over his career, it is estimated he has earned $84 million in salary over 10 years in the United States, in addition to ¥2.3 billion ($27 million) paid to him by the Giants over 10 years.

The Nikkan Sports paper in Japan wrote about Matsui in its morning edition just before the announcement. This paper said in a headline that Matsui was due to "bring Godzilla II to the Giants," making a joking reference to the nickname "Godzilla" that he was given while playing for that team a decade earlier.

Hideki Matsui remains a famous and revered sports figure among baseball players and fans, especially at home in Japan. Many hope he will one day manage his former team, the Yomiuri Giants. We’ll have to wait and see what his future holds, including whether the Giants will lure him back into the game with a prized leadership role. Talking about his decision to leave the Major Baseball League and the United States, Matsui's father Masao, 70, said his son had "nothing to regret as a baseball player with such good results."