With Hideki Matsui set to throw out the first pitch later today at Yankee Stadium, it’s hard not to think about the first time we laid eyes on him at the house that Ruth built.
He was the new kid on the block. The new superstar in the clubhouse. We didn’t know what to expect from the Japanese import when he signed before the 2003 season, but we got a taste of what was to come at the Stadium’s home opener on April 8, 2003. For me, it’s one of my favorite Opening Day moments.
It was the bottom of the fifth. Yankees were up 3-1 on the Minnesota Twins. Bernie Williams was intentionally walked to load the bases. Up stepped Matsui, who worked the count full. Twins starter Joe Mays threw an absolute meatball and Godzilla didn’t miss. He sent the ball into the right field bleachers and the crowd went absolutely nuts. The Yankees never looked back.
The one thing that stood out to me was how calm and cool Matsui was. He didn’t pump his fist. He didn’t even break a smile. It wasn’t until he reached the dugout that he gave a reluctant grin. He acted as if he’d been a Yankee for 10 years instead of 10 days. This was the moment that encapsulated his time in the Bronx. Cutch, grace and style. As Michael Kay would say, “he had a flare for the dramatic.”
“When I hit the ball, I kind of figured it was going to be a homer. But, when I hit it, it didn’t feel like I had actually hit it on my own. It felt like there were other energies, other powers, that helped me,” Matsui told Jack Curry, who then wrote for the NY Times.
Matsui left the Bronx the same way he came in: loudly. It was fitting that in his final game in a Yankees uniform, he turned in one of the greatest performances in World Series history. It made him a Yankee legend, one that holds a special place in the hearts of Yankees fans.
There’s just something different about Opening Day and home openers. Moments seem bigger. Careers begin, legends are born. It happened to Matsui almost 13 years ago to the day. We’ll see what today has in store in a few hours.
