Modified on July 30, 2013
Yankees celebrate
Matsui signed a minor league contract with the Yankees just this day.
He was on a cart to greet fans. He pitched the first pitch of the game which was
slightly too old.
Matsu said he was so in awe of the event, he was about to cry.
Matsui ends his playing career
On Dec 28 in N.Y. Matsui gave a news conference to announce he has
decided to put an end to playing baseball.
When asked if he didn't consider returning to Japan to play, he said
even if he did he would not be able to play like he used to which is
what fans expect from him.
Matsui's overall baseball record is .293, 507 home runs, 2504 games played.
Michiyo's note: Matsui is one of the most loved baseball players in Japan. Unlike your average superstars, he has never been viewed as arrogant. He played hard. He was the top story for major TV networks on the day he announced his retirement including NHK.
WITH THE TAMPA BAY RAYS IN 2012
June 1
He started for the 2nd time as a member of the Rays.
In the first inning, he blasted a 2 run home run. It's against the Baltimore Orioles
Chen Wei-yin who played for the Chunichi Dragons.
The Rays won 5 to 0.
May 29
Matsui was called to play with the major league and the following day, he was on the starting line up
hitting 6th.
On his 2nd at bat, he slammed a perfect 2 run home run.
However his team lost against the Chicago White Sox 2 to 7.
Matsui joins the Rays
Worries have been mounting of whether or not Matsui will even be able to play in the US this season.
Finally, he announced on May 1 that he will join the Rays. But he started with the minor team.
WITH THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS IN 2011
Sept 9
Matsui blasted a 2 run homer in the 8ty inning. It's his 12th this season.
But his team lost to the Texas Ranger 4 to 13.
Aug 11
Matsui was a wonder hitting base hits after another, with a total 4 hits in all.
His team beat the Toronto BlueJays 10 to 3.
Aug 7
Matsui continues to hit well. In the 5th inning, with a runner on base he homered. Although
the game went into extrainnings, his team won 5 to 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
July 27
Matsui had been hitting well. This time he slammed a 3 run home run, in all, 5 RBIS to help his
team beat the Cincinnati Reds, 13 to 4.
July 24
Matsui recorded 5 base hits in the game against the NY Yankees.
But the Athletics lost 5 to 7.
July 20
At last, Matsui in the 6th inning, slammed a home run.
It's his career 500th.
He also had 2 other hits. The Athletics defeated the Detroit Tigers 7 to 5.
July 3
Matsui was playing in the outfield and he contributed.
In the 7th inning with bases loaded, he threw from outfield to home and killed a runner.
He also had a base hit.
The Athletics defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 7 to 2.
June 16
Matsui homered in the 3rd inning as designated hitter.
His team won too, dfeated the Kansas City Royals.
May 2
The game would not have been won without Matsui.
In the 10th inning, Matsui blasted a homer to give his team a 5 to 4 win over the Texas Rangers.
Apr 19
Matsui's 2 run hit in the 8th inning helped his team beat the Boston Red Sox 5 to 0.
Apr 16
Matsui had a base hit in the first inning.
And he also hit home a runner to take his team ahead of the Detroit Tigers.
His team eventually won 6 to 2.
Apr 13
In the 4th inning,Matsui slammed his 2nd homer of the season. He also had a base hit.
The game went into the 10th inning, in which the Athletics won 7 t o 4 against the Chicago White Sox.
Apr 13
Matsui was 4th on the line up and a designated hitter.
He had a 2 base hit. Then an RBI hit and another base hit.
However in the 10th inning, his team lost to the Chicago White Sox 5 to 6.
Apr 12
Matsui was 4th on the line up and a designated hitter.
He had a 2 base hit. Then an RBI hit and another base hit.
However in the 10th inning, his team lost to the Chicago White Sox 5 to 6.
Apr 10
Matsui slammed his first homerun on the season in the 4th inning.
His team also defeated the Minnesota Twins 5 to 3.
Matsui joins the Athletics
More than 100 members of the press assembled to Hideki Matsui's
news conference on Dec 14 in Oakland.
He said he was honored to become a member of a prestigious team.
He will wear number 55.
But he's reportedly tying the knot for a year for a lower wage, or
4.25 million dollars. He is said to have earned 6 million with the Angels.
WITH THE LOS ANGELES ANGELS IN 2010
Oct 3
Matsui played as DH in the final game of the season for him.
In the 4th inning, he slammed a 2 run home run.
His 21st of the season.
His team won 6 to 2 against the Texas Rangers.
With this, his one year contract with the Angels is completed.
Sept 11
In the 4th inning Matsui blasted a home run.
He was walked twice.
His team won 7 to 4 against the Seattle Mariners.
Sept 5
Matsui had 3 base hits. Of which in the 7th inning he hit in a run and
contributed to the team's 7 to 4 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Aug 30
Matsui slammed a home run in the 6th inning, that helped his
team defeat the Seattle Mariners 5 to 3.
Aug 14
Matsui was awesome. At his first at bat, he slammed a 2 run home run.
He doubled in the 4th inning. He singled too.
With 4 hits, he contributed to his team's 7 to 2 win against the Toronto BlueJays.
July 25
In the 7th inning, it was another 2 run homer for Matsui.
But the Angels lost to the Texas Rangers 4 to 6.
July 21
Matsui blasted another 2 run home run in 2 consecutive games.
But this time the Angels failed to beat the NY Yankees with the
game ending 6 to 10.
July 20
In the 7th inning with a runner on base, Matsui blasted a home run.
It's his 11th this season.
And the Angels beat the NY Yankees 10 to 2.
June 26
It was in the first inning with bases loaded Matsui came up to bat. He slammed a home run.
It's his MLB career 150th home run.
The Angels beat the Rockies 4 to 2
June 6
Matsui slammed a home run and helped his team win 9 to 4 against the Seattle Mariners.
June 4
Matsui blasted a 2 run home run.
He had another RBI hit. And his team defeated the Seattle Mariners 7 to 1.
June 3
Matsui had 3 base hits and his team won 5 to 4 against the Kansa City Royals.
June 1
Matsui had 2 base hits. In the 6th inning, what was called a double had to go through a video review
to confirm it was a double.
In the end the Angels lost to the Kansas City Royals 3 to 6.
May 30
In the first inning Matsui blasted a 2 run home run.
But the Seattle Mariners took the lead in the 4th inning.
However in the 9th inning, the Angels won with a 3 run home run by Howie Kendrich, ending the game
9 to 7.
May 14
Matsui slammed a 3 run home run in the 6th inning.
With that he helped his team win 4 to 0 over the Oakland Athletics.
Apr 26
Matsui achieved his 1000th hit in MLB in the 5th ining.
It's in his 8th year in the US. The only Japanese ahead of him is the Seattle Mariners Ichiro.
He also earned a RBI with a sacrifice fly.
The Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 5 to 2.
Apr 22
Matsui was not impressive on the field. But he was good with his bat.
In the first inning, he singled.
In the 5th, he blasted a home run.
But his team lost 4 to 5 to the Detroit Tigers.
Apr 18
Matsui hit in home a runner in the 6th inning with a double.
He also doubled in the 9th inning which paved the way for the Angels to
score runs. The Angles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3 to 1.
Apr 15
Matsui was not hitting at all against the Yankees, but finally,
in this game he homered.
He was walked twice. He tried to come home from 2nd base but did not quite make it.
In the 8th, he singled. The Angels lost again 2 to 6.
Apr 13
Matsui returned to NY for the first time since leaving the Yankees.
And he was given a warm welcome.
First, with his former teammates he was presented the 2009 world champion ring.
In fact, it was a fake one, which was later replace with a real one.
When he went up to bat, the crowd cheered him on, and he tipped his cap to great the fans.
However, he could not hit himself on base and the Angles lost 5 to 7.
Apr 10
Matsui hit well.He had 2 base hits then in the 9th inning with the game a tie,
he hit home a runner to give his team a 4 to 3 win over the Oakland Athletics, and
ending his team's losing streak at 4.
Apr 9
Matsui homered in the 2nd inning.But his team had a devastating lost against the
Oakland Athletics.
Apr 8
For the first time in 8 years, Matsui was out playing in the field from the
beginning of the game.
He didn't make any flubs.
He had a base hit but the Angels lost to the Minnesota Twins 1 to 10.
Apr 7
Matsui singled in the first, 3rd and doubled in the 6th.
But it did not help his team. His team lost again 2 to 5 to the Minnesota Twins.
Apr 6
It was Matsui Day.
The game's ceremonial first pitch was hurled by Japan's Olympic gold medalist in the
women's marathon in Sydney, Naoko Takahashi. Matsui caught it.
The audience was handed a big towel with Matsui's name and number.
They were told to wear it for the Guiness Book of World Record and did.
But Matsui did not perform well. His team lost 3 to 5 to the Minnesota Twins.
Apr 5
On opening day, Matsui started as a designated hitter wearing the team's red uniform.
In the 5th inning, he hit in a run to give the Angels a lead.
In the 8th, he blasted a home run.
His new team won 6 to 3 over the Minnesota Twins.
Matsui joins the Angels
Matsui held a press conference in Anaheim on Dec 16, 2009.
He wore his new uniform, the first time he wears a red baseball outfit.
But the number was again 55.
It's reported that he's tied a 1 year contract with the Angels for 6.5 million dollars.
WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES IN 2009
World Series:vs Philadephia Phillies
MVP:Hideki Matsui
In the first game on Oct 28, in the 5th inning, Matsui hit the ball to center field and got on first base.
But he made the wrong decision when in fact the ball was directly caught by the Phillies.
He didn't go back to 1st base and was called out.
The Yankees lost 1 to 6.
On Oct 29, Matsui singled in the first inning.
In the 6th inning, with the game tied at that point, Matsui swang hard against a low pitch and that went
into the stands. With this home run the Yankees won 3 to 1.
On Oct 31, the Yankees took the lead in the 5th inning. That lead was increased with
Matsui's home run in the 8th inning. The Yankees won 8 to 5.
On Nov 2, Matsui was a pinch hitter in the 9th inning.
He got himself on base. But was called out on Derek Jeter's grounded ball.
The Yankees lost 6 to 8.
The game was back in New York on Nov 4. Matsui played as DH.
He was a wonder. In the 2nd inning,Matsui slammed a 2 run home run.
In the 3rd with bases loaded he batted in 2 runs.
In the 5th, he had 2 RBI hit again.
Thanks to Matsui, the Yankees won 7 to 3 against the Phillies and became the World Champion.
Matsui became the first Japanese ever to be named MVP of the World Series.
Championship Series:vs Los Angeles Angels
Matsui was hitting 5th in the series on Oct 16.
At his first time up to bat, he popped up the ball which appeared catchable.
But the LA Angels dropped it and Johnny Damon came home.
In the 5th inning, Matsui doubled for another RBI.
The Yankees beat the Angels 4 to 1.
On Oct 22, Matsui hit home a runner to equalize. He came running home too.
But the Yankees pitchers could not withstand. The team lost 6 to 7, to make this a 2nd loss in 5 games.
On Oct 25, Matsui did not contribute, but his tea won 5 to 2 and advanced to the World Series.
Playoffs:Oct 8
In the 5th inning, Matsui blasted a 2 run home run.
The Yankees was already ahead before that and defeated the Minnesota Twins.
7 to 2.
WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES IN 2009
Sept 27
Matsu slammed in 2 runs to take the lead over the Boston Red Sox.
He hit off Japanese pitcher Takashi Saito.
And with a 4 to 2 win, the Yankees clinched the American League East title.
Sept 22
In the 5th inning, Matsui slammed a home run. It's his 28th this season.
It's also a home run in 2 games in a row.
His team beat the Angels 6 to 5, and advanced to the playoffs.
Aug 23
Gozilla was exploding again.
He had 2 home runs and helped his team win 8 to 4 over the Boston Red Sox.
Aug 21
Matsui blasted a 3 run homer in the 5th inning.
He did it again in the 9th inning.
The Yankees overwhelmed the Boston Red Sox 20 to 11.
Aug 13
Matsui was amazing. He slammed 2 run home runs twice.
It's the first time in the MLB.
His team beat the Seattle Mariner 11 to 1.
July 20
Matsui contributed with a game winning home run to take his team to a 2 to 1
win over the Baltimore Orioles.
He was smacked with cream on his face while he was giving a hero's interview.
July 4
In the 2nd inning, Matsui helped his team equalize with his home run.
He also had a 2 base hit in the 8th inning.
In the 12th inning, his team clinched the game 6 to 5 over the Toronto BlueJays.
July 2
Matsui slammed a 2 run homer in the 4th inning.
He had another RBI hit. However, the NY Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners
4 to 8.
June 14
Matsui blasted a 2 run home run. and in that inning, his team exploded.
In the end the Yankees won 15 to 0 against the NY Mets.
June 12
Matsui celebrated his birthday with a 3 run home run. It's his 9th homer this season.
The Yankees later went behind the NY Mets, but in the 9th inning,
an error gave the Yankees a 9 to 8 win.
May 30
In the 4th inning, Matsui doubled. In the 7th, he singled. And in the 9th
he had an RBI 2 base. He contributed to the Yankees 10 to 5 win over the Cleveland Indians.
May 27
Matsui exploded. He slammed 2 homers, and hit in 3 runs, to help his team
beat the Texas Rangers 9 to 2.
May 7
Matsui hit his 3rd home run of the season in the 5th inning.
But his team lost its 5th game in a row in a 6 to 8 game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Apr 29
The 4th inning was a big inning.
Matsui walked and came home on a homerun.
He was up to bat for the 2nd time the same inning.
He cleared the bases with a 2 base hit.
The Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 8 to 6.
Apr 26
Matsui appears to be back in shape.
He had 2 base hits in the game against the Boston Red Sox, but his team
lost 1 to 4.
Apr 22
Matsui homered in a competeitve game and also had a base hit.
The Yankees in the end clinched the 14 inning game against the Oakland Athletics 9 to 7.
April 6
Matsui started as a designated hitter.
It was in the 7th inning, he slammed a 2 run home run.
It's his career 445th home run which is a significant number for him as he's
exceeded the total homer hit by his mentor Shigeo Nagashima.
But his team lost 5 to 10 to the Baltimore Orioles.
WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES IN 2008
September 21
Matsui played in an emotional final regular season game at the Yankees Stadium.
He appeared as a designated hitter. He had a base hit.
His team defeated the Baltimore Orioled 7 to 3.
After the game it was unveiled Matsui have his left knee operated in NY.
Sept 6
In the 2nd inning, Matsui doubled.
He had an RBI hit.
In all he hit himself on base 3 times and contributed to the Yankees 7 to 4 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Aug 21
Matsui blasted a 3 run home run.
But the Yankees lost more runs, and so his team lost 3 to 14 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Aug 19
Matsui was finally back after injuring his knee.
He had 3 opportunities to bat, but failed to contribute.
The Yankees lost 1 to 2 to the Toronto BlueJays.
June 12
Matsui celebrated his 34th birthday in the best way possible.
He blasted a grand slam which gave his team a 4 to 1 win over the Oakland Athletics.
May 28
Matsui has been hitting well. But he had a lucky 2 base hit in the 2nd inning.
He doubled in the 9th inning too.
Matsui has at this point leads the league with an ERA of .330.
The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 4 to 2.
May 8
Matsui extended his consecutive game hits to 17.
That's with 2 base hits.
The Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 6 to 3.
May 4
With his hit, the Yankees equalized. Matsui had another RBI hit.
His team again defeated the Seattle Mariners 8 to 2.
May 3
In the 3rd inning, Matsui recorded a hit in 13 consecutive games.
It was a 2 base RBI. He had another hit and his team beat the
Seattle Mariners 6 to 1.
Apr 15
Matsui slammed his 3 home run of the season.
Separately he had an RBI hit.
The Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5 to 3.
Apr 11
Matsui singled and also doubled in this game against the Boston Red Sox.
His team won 4 to 1.
Apr 7
Matsui continued to hit well. In the 6th inning, he hit in a run with a double.
In the 7th, he had another RBI hit.
His team beat the Cincinnatti Reds again 6 to 1.
Apr 6
Matsui slammed a 2 run home run aside from 2 base hits.
With that his team beat the Cincinnatti Red 2 to 0.
Apr 4
In the 3rd inning, Matsui blasted a home run. It's his first this season.
That was his only hit. His team lost to the Cincinnatti Reds 4 to 13.
Apr 2
In the 2nd game for the Yankees this season, Matsui had his first hit of the season.
But his team lost to the Toronto BluJays 2 to 5.
Matsui is married
It was a earthshaking announcement for Japanese fans.
Matsui announced the day after his wedding that he married a 25 year old woman he met in 2006.
He was love at first sight.
There have been so many gossips about him dating beautiful actresses so this annoucnement
came as a surprise.
For Matsui's past performances, go to ARCHIVE