When a group of Major League
Baseball' All-Stars come to Japan this month to play a group of home-grown All-Stars,
some American pitchers may be taken aback by the prospect of pitching to Godzilla.
Fortunately for the American hurlers, this Godzilla is not the giant reptile best known
for trashing Tokyo on numerous occasions, but rather Yomiuri Giants' center fielder Hideki
"Godzilla" Matsui.
Where this nickname comes from is a mystery. Not of gargantuan proportions at 186
centimeters and 95 kilograms, the affable, often-smiling Matsui does not fit the demeanor
of the fire-breathing, rampaging reptilian either.
"It's hard not to like Matsui," baseball writer Dan Latham says in an item on
his baseball website. "A very amiable character, I have yet to hear anyone with a bad
thing to say about him."
Michiyo Ishida, another Tokyo sportswriter, offers this theory: "Since his high
school days, he was known for his explosive home runs."
Central League pitchers on opposing teams might side more with Ishida when Matsui steps
into the batter's box, with his nothing-but-business death stare punctuated with an
occasional shoulder twitch.
Matsui was drafted by the Giants in 1993, even though he had hoped to play for the Giants'
arch-rival, the Hanshin Tigers. He had an adequate rookie year in 1995, hitting 22 home
runs while maintaining a .282 batting average.
The following year, Matsui was instrumental in getting the Giants to the Japan Series -
his .314 batting average and 38 home runs contributed greatly to the Giants' success and
earned him the Central League's Most Valuable Player award in 1996.
His numbers during the Giants' disastrous 1997 season were still the stuff of which
All-Stars are made: a .297 batting average with 103 RBIs (runs batted in) and 37 home
runs, one short of the home run title captured by the Yakult Swallows' Dwayne Hosey. His
ever-improving hitting coupled with his durability - he has never missed a game in his pro
career - make him the most feared Giants hitter, even with Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Yoshinobu
Takahashi hitting behind him in the Giants batting order.
In 1998, Matsui's 34 round-trippers finally earned him the home run title and his 100 RBIs
were also the best in the Central League. While his .292 batting average fell far short of
this year's batting title, it may be only a matter of time before Matsui earns the triple
crown (highest batting average, most home runs and most RBIs by the same player in a
season).
As for a matter of Time - the news magazine in this case - an article in the March 24,
1997 edition, "Plenty More After Nomo," concluded with what could be a prophetic
statement: "Japanese fans are fearful that... maybe even a non-pitcher like Hideki
Matsui, power hitter from the Tokyo Giants, will be next" to play in the majors.
It could happen. If one Godzilla can trash New York, as one did this past summer in
theatres across America, what's to stop another left-handed hitting Godzilla wearing
number 55 from trashing Major League pitching?
When a group of Major League
Baseball' All-Stars come to Japan this month to play a group of home-grown All-Stars,
some American pitchers may be taken aback by the prospect of pitching to Godzilla.
Fortunately for the American hurlers, this Godzilla is not the giant reptile best known
for trashing Tokyo on numerous occasions, but rather Yomiuri Giants' center fielder Hideki
"Godzilla" Matsui.
BIG IN JAPAN: