Twelve years ago today, 29 year old Hideki Matsui made his debut at Yankee Stadium in grand fashion. With the Yankees leading the Twins 3-1 going into the bottom of the 5th inning, Matsui would step to the plate with the bases loaded. With the count full, Twins starter Joe Mays delivered a pitch that Matsui would gladly deliver into the right field bleachers for a grand slam. The Yankees would go on to win the game by a score of 7-3.
Hideki Matsui had a MLB career filled with great moments, but when you play in The Bronx, fans expect greatness from the start… and he delivered. Godzilla, as he would go on to be nicknamed, notched a hit in each of his first 7 games as a Bronx Bomber.
Matsui would finish the 2003 season with a respectable .287 batting average, with 16 HRs, and 106 RBIs.
