Former teammates Derek Jeter & Hideki Matsui are in Japan to play a charity baseball game to support survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Sunday, March 21st will start with a clinic put on by the two superstars followed by The Tomodachi Charity Baseball Game at the Tokyo Dome. Jeter & Matsui will each manage a team made up of student baseball players from the Tohoku region, which was devastated by the 2011 disaster that killed over 15,000 people. Jeter’s strategy? To put pressure on the umpires. “I’ve never been thrown out of a game before, so it might be my first time getting thrown out,” he said. Matsui said that is “a scene I’d like to see.” Profits will go toward helping children in the region.
Jeter will draw from his experiences from September 11th to help the kids cope. “I was in New York for September 11th. I didn’t lose any family or friends in that, but I felt what it was like in New York during that disaster. Our job through baseball was to try to provide as much excitement and entertainment as we could during that time. I think it’s somewhat similar here. Kids will never forget what happened, but if they can come out and have fun and enjoy themselves during the sport of baseball, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
Matsui is grateful for Jeter’s help and says his presence alone means a lot. “Having Jeter here is a wonderful thing. I’m happy, and the kids taking part in this event will be thrilled. We hope they have a great time, and return to Tohoku with some great memories.”
To Jeter, there is no better person to help these kids than Matsui. “Not only was he successful here in Japan, one of the biggest stars in the country, he came over the United States and did the exact same thing,” Jeter said. “There aren’t too many players that can say that. He has a lot of knowledge, and will be able to share that with as many people as he wants to.”
They will also face off in a home run derby during the event. No offense to The Captain, but I’m taking Godzilla in this one.
