Thanks for the memories!

When I saw you for the last time in pinstripes, I watched you hit a home run in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series.  I was outside of the stadium by the Great Hall and saw you pull one off of Pedro.

Today, you officially agreed to be the new DH for the Anaheim Angels after signing a 1 year/ $6.5 million deal.  I was pushing for a 1 year/$10 million offer for you to be our defacto DH and LH pinch hitter off the bench.  Alas, you wanted to go ahead with a deal and didn’t want to wait for the Yankees’ decision.  And I don’t blame you.  As a Yankees fan, I will always remember you for a career’s worth of memorable, clutch hits and your quiet professionalism.  In 7 years with the Yankees, I never heard a negative story about you not hustling, not being prepared, or causing trouble.  And with the huge Japanese media throng following your every moves, if there was anything to report, we would have heard about it by now.

I’m sorry to see you leave, but before you go:  Thank you, Hideki Matsui.

And here are some of my favorite memories:

Random Orioles Game

This past summer, my friend invited me to go to a random Orioles-Yankees matchup.  He was able to score some nice seats in the 100 section.  Usually, I get to catch games from the 400 section, bleachers, or next to the condiment bar behind section 121.  So, needless to say I was pretty excited.  I wore my Matsui shirt and got me some beer and garlic fries.

With the score tied in the bottom of the 9th, and my non-Yankee friend urging me to leave the game, you strolled up to the plate.  I knew you were going to end the game with one swing.

And just like that, you made me look like a genius.

E-mail as a FA (2002)

Also proficient in Japanese, MS Word and Excel.

According to the NYTimes, Matsui wrote an e-mail similar to what a college student would write on his cover letter.  If that college student was applying to the Major Leagues that is. It was sent to the general managers of every major league team in the fall of 2002 as he was making the leap from Japan to MLB which read as followed:

“This year, I hit 50 home runs with 107 R.B.I., and my batting average was .334 . . .  I hope your team will be interested to offer me a contract for next season.”

This would be the first of many offerings by a curious enigma in today’s professional sports – someone that was courteous,polite and humble.

Grand Opening

A Signature Matsui Moment

How would Godzille fare in his new home ball park?  Would he be able to conquer New York in the way the 1998 film “Godzilla” was not able to?

In Hideki Matsui’s first home game, he hit a Grand Slam showing his teammates, fans, and the media that 1) Japanese players can be more than pitchers and slap hitters and 2) He wasn’t Hideki Irabu.

Bet with Jeter/Abreu

She's a bit flat...

Overhearing his teammates bet about who would get married first, Matsui sneaks his way into the bet.  Little do they know that Matsui had been courting an unnamed 26-year old Japanese woman who worked in a “reputable position at a highly respected company.”

i.e. she invented the Wii and the Prius.

Your Massive Porn Collection

(Um. Insert Picture)

There wasn’t an official statement or press conference about this subject.  But like most men, you had a porn collection.  Sure, there’s the Internet now, but that didn’t stop you from accumulating over 55,000 tapes and dvds of the stuff.  Heck,you were open about it – sharing it with teammates and members of the Japanese media that followed you.  “Sorry, Mr. Yamagata with the Tokyo Times.  I will not answer your question until you return Busty Co-Eds 14.

You were open and straightforward about something everyone in your locker room and heck, most guys own.  If only everyone in MLB was as open about steroids as you were about porn.

Apology After Injury

Good thing I..."throw the ball" with my right hand

In 2006, you dove for a ball in the outfield in a rivalry game against the Boston Red Sox and broke your wrist.  Your consecutive games played streak?  Done.  Chance to play the rest of the season?  Slim to none.  Some players might sulk, be depressed, or just take it out on someone.  How did you respond?

“Due to this injury, I feel very sorry and, at the same time, very disappointed to have let my teammates down. I will do my best to fully recover and return to the field to help my team once again… I would like to thank Joe Torre from the bottom of my heart for having been considerate of my consecutive games played streak these past several years and for placing me in the lineup every day.“

Hideki, you were in the lineup because you proved to be an excellent hitter, not because of your streak.  You could hit both lefties and righties.  You could hit it to the gap or over the fence.  Class act.

Double in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS

In the bottom of the 8th inning with the team down by 2 runs and Bernie Williams on 1st, you faced Pedro Martinez.  This isn’t the washed up Pedro of 2008.  And while it wasn’t 1999 Pedro, you were still facing one of the top pitchers in the league.  The Stadium’s rocking.  A hit here could swing the momentum to your team’s side.  But an out or worse, a double-play could just as quickly suck the air of the Stadium.  Sure you were a “rookie” but I’m sure your palms weren’t sweaty and your heart wasn’t racing.  You calmly stepped up to the plate, shrugged your shoulders like you do before every at-bat and hit a ground-rule double to put the tying runs in scoring position.  People remember Posada’s double, Grady Little’s (in)decision, and Aaron Boone’s home run, but I’ll always remember your line drive double in that game.

(That said, I can’t find video of it, so here’s Boone’s homerun. =D)

2009 World Series

What can I say?  I wrote this in my 27 piece:

“If this was Hideki Matsui’s swan song as a Yankee, my god, what a performance. He took home MVP honors after going 8-13 (.615) with 3 homeruns and 8 RBIs. He became the first DH to ever win the award. I can’t ever recall a non-pitcher that didn’t start every game to win the award.”

The last time I saw you, I started an MVP chant as your parade float passed me by in the Canyon of Heroes.  Thanks for the memories.  Please don’t kill us too badly while wearing a Halos uniform and see you at the ring ceremony on Opening Day 2010.

P.S. Angels fans, you’re in for a treat.  Just don’t play him in the outfield and abuse him like you did Vlad the Impaler.   (Or Vlad the Sad Person as my Halo rooting friend called him today.)  Follow my rules like you’re raising Gremlins.   Or a Godzilla.