Hideki Matsui is a Japanese-born Major League Baseball player currently playing left field for the New York Yankees.

Matsui was born on June 12, 1974 in Ishikawa, Japan. He started playing baseball in elementary school, and later participated in four National High School Baseball Tournaments at Koshien Stadium. As a youth, he played a number of sports, earning a first-degree black belt in judo, and winning a citywide sumo tournament.

After completing high school, he was drafted in the first round by the Yomiuri Giants. Based in Tokyo, the Giants are Japan’s most famous and successful baseball franchise. Matsui became a star player in Japan, making the all-star team nine consecutive times, and winning the Japanese Central League’s MVP Award three times, in 1996, 2000 and 2002. He led his team to the Japan Series four times, winning three titles in 1994, 2000 and 2002. He also led the league in home runs and RBI’s three times. In his final season in Japan, he hit 50 home runs. He became only the third Japanese player to ever make 500 million yen per season.

On January 14, 2003, he signed a three-year contract with the New York Yankees, and a parade was held for him in Tokyo. He impressed the fans in New York immediately by hitting a grand slam in his first game at Yankee Stadium. Matsui was the 17th Japanese player to sign with a Major League Baseball club. During his first three years with the Yankees, he did not miss a game, playing in 518 consecutive games. In addition, before signing with New York, he had played in 1250 consecutive games for Yomiuri. On May 6, 2006, he recorded his 2000th hit (the total includes hits for both the Giants and the Yankees), which earned him a place in Japan’s Golden Players Club. On August 5, 2007, he became the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball history to hit 100 home runs. As a Yankee, Matsui made the all-star team in 2003 and 2004. After the 2005 season, he re-signed with the Yankees, agreeing to a four-year contract worth $52 million U.S.

Hideki Matsui’s nickname is Godzilla, and the song ‘Godzilla’ is played when he comes up to bat at Yankee Stadium. He also made a cameo appearance in the film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. He is still very popular back home in Japan, and Yankee games are often attended by a large Japanese media contingent. He bats left, and throws right. He is a good defensive outfielder, not flashy but steady and dependable. Matsui had arthroscopic knee surgery in November, 2007, but is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.