It is no secret that Godzilla himself won’t be wearing Athletics green in 2012. Hideki Matsui, a free agent, has been on the market for some time now. Not to suggest Matsui isn’t worth the money, but there are far more potent designated hitters on the market. Who would have thought that Godzilla would be lost in the sea of long term free agency? I mean, there is plenty of man-made, anti-Godzilla weaponry on the market; the Oxygen Destroyer, Super-X, Mecha-King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla? But what’s actually putting the hurt on Godzilla? Free agent DHs like Johnny Damon, Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz, and Carlos Pena. However, Hideki has got one advantage over these other monsters, a cheap price tag.
Surprisingly, a team with a reckless disregard for price tags is rumored to be interested…again. The New York Yankees have got their Geiger counters out checking out their once radioactive half-whale, half-gorilla designated hitter. Hideki played for the Yankees from 2003 through 2009. Hideki has done wonders in the Bronx, just check out this impressive stat list of radioactive monster proportions:
In his first major league at bat, he hit an RBI single,
He was the first Yankee to hit a grand slam in his first game at Yankee Stadium,
He finished his rookie year with a .287 batting average, 16 home runs, and 106 RBIs,
He was the first Japanese player to hit a home run in the World Series,
2004- .298 batting average, 31 home runs, 108 RBIs,
2005- .305 batting average, 23 home runs, 116 RBIs,
2006- .302 batting average, 8 home runs, 29 RBIs, after missing over half the season due to a wrist injury,
Matsui’s four-year, 52 million dollar deal made him the highest paid Japanese player in baseball,
May 6th, 2007 Matsui recorded his 2,000 hit,
June 12th, 2008, Matsui belted a grand slam on his 34th birthday,
June 12th, 2009, Matsui belted a three-run homer on his 35th birthday,
August 21st, 2009 Matsui hit two home runs driving in a career high seven runs in a 20-11 win over the Red Sox. The last time seven runs were knocked in during one game was by Lou Gehrig in 1930,
Hideki Matsui was the 2009 World Series Most Valuable Player.
Matsui’s home town of Kanazawa, Japan is known for its gold. Kanazawa literally means “marsh of gold”, and that is just what New York is seeing in Godzilla. The Bronx Bombers are only willing to drop a million or less on a DH. The Yankees are also in negotiations with Raul Ibanez for the job, and rumor has it that talks are heating up.
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