The Stealth Bomber
From the CanWest News Service -
Hideki Matsui wears ice packs on his knees after most games. Is there something seriously wrong? “No, no, it’s not that bad,” Matsui, speaking through an interpreter, said with a smile. “I’m just getting old.”
On June 12, Matsui turned 33. In July, he had one of the best months of his career, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 28 runs while batting .345.
Was Matsui, the Yankees’ left-fielder, reluctant to turn another page on the calendar Wednesday as the Yankees played the second game of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium?
No, not really, it doesn’t really bother me,” Matsui said of the passage of time.
But pitcher Mike Mussina said: “Hopefully, he’s not done and doesn’t look at the calendar. The ball must look really big to him when it’s coming in there.”
In Japan, where he was a star for the Yomiuri Giants from 1993 through 2002, Matsui hit 332 home runs, including a career-best 50 in 2002. Among his high-salaried teammates in New York, Matsui has a relatively low profile. But Derek Jeter, for one, takes notice when Matsui is swinging well. “Matsui’s streaky,” Jeter said. “When he gets hot, he can put together runs when it seems like he never makes an out.”
Matsui led the majors in home runs in July and raised his batting average to .293 from .270. He has 74 runs batted in. Jeter said he has talked about Matsui frequently with Don Mattingly, the bench coach who, like Matsui, was a left-handed hitter for the Yankees.
“It’s fun to watch because he hits the ball the other way, he pulls the ball, he’s a good situational hitter and he hits home runs,” Jeter said of Matsui. “So, when he’s swinging the bat well, he’s as good as anyone.”
From 2003 to 2007 (to date), only Alex Rodriguez (461) has more RBI for the Yankees than Hideki Matsui (433) – and their totals are not that far apart. Granted, A-Rod was not here in 2003. But, Matsui missed 111 games in 2006. So, it’s sort of a push there. (Godzilla has a 55 game advantage on A-Rod, in Yankeeland, since 2003.)
It is amazing, at times, considering he’s a legend in Japan, how much Matsui’s contributions to the Yankees fly under the radar in the States.
True…every time he hits a home run now, my friends and I parody the oft-heard phrase from 2003 from RSN/Steve Phillips/Joe Morgan and the media:
“I’m not sure that Matsui’s power in Japan will translate to the majors….”
“The Stealth Bomber.” Now that’s a cool nickname