A reputable Japanese media source claims Cashman really soured on Matsui when he backed out of knee surgery at the last minute in July (?) 2008. Seemingly, the chance to step into the box in the last game at the old stadium meant more to Hideki than honoring his initial agreement to go under the knife midseason.
Also, the season wasn’t completely lost when that decision was made, was it?

Regardless, Hideki Matsui ended his Yankee tenure in about the greatest way possible, and treated fans on both sides of the Pacific to that sweet blissful blend of victory and class.
What a baseball player.

yeah i am really going to miss matsui on the yankees. his problem spot was you could turn him to groundzilla on occasion when he tried to pull that outside pitch, but watch out otherwise.

[13] baseball season is too long not to have some intersting dudes around. completely agree on matsui and bernie (who i still miss)

It also made me re-miss Matsui.

I felt that way about Murcer …. (sigh)

I’ll keep the nerdiness in check, though. Don’t want Cliff or AB to revoke my posting privileges.

I’ll never be the type of fan who just thinks of players in relation to their stats. I like to like these guys, if that makes sense. I liked Matsui. I really liked Bernie Williams. It’s not easy to lose guys like that off the team. They had a good mix of talent, quirkiness, friendliness, all that. They just seemed like good guys who would be fun to hang around with – who happened to make a living playing baseball.

Paul O’Neill took some of the WORST swings I ever saw for a LHB. If you threw him something down and in, invariably he’d inside-out it into a popup to 3b or LF.

Then there were times he was a .300+ hitter …

I am a longtime BB reader, and a lapsed active Banter-er, but this article prompted me to log in for the first time in a while. Matsui was never a great player, as in part of the top echelon of the game at any point in time, but he was a great Yankee, and will be missed. He’s classy, composed, and dignified, but displays enough emotion and quirkiness (his, ahem, video collection, and the general hilarity around the bet with Jeter and his subsequent under the radar wedding) to keep you guessing.
The home plate jump and Posada’s celebration at 2B after the bloop double are forever linked in my mind.

But the whole approach make me love that guy. As a fan, i break hitters into two categories. great hitters I mean.

On one hand, you have the T-ballers. Arod is the best example I’m familiar with. He has a near perfect swing. He stays with it, he has amazing coverage with it and watch out if you leave one up for him to tee off on…. Have you ever seen Arod have a really off balance swing?

Then there’s the other guys… I don’t have a name for them…. Matsui, Paulie O. jumps to mind, Boggs, Gwynn, Matingly, Damon, There’s a ton. These guys can really crush the ball, but in order to thrive against LOOGY’s or to overcome back pain, whatever, they actually design swings that are very off-balance. They look downright terrible sometimes, spoiling pitches Damon, slashing grounders to third Paulie, or rolling over the outside pitch to Second Matsui. It must take so much courage to keep yourself off-balance when you know that’s exactly what the pitcher wants…

God I miss baseball.

Imagine how hard it is to hit a lefty slider on the outside corner bailing out like that? We should try it next BP, if we can find a lefty who can hit the outside corner that is…

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I hear Randy Johnson isn’t busy …

2 Imagine how hard it is to hit a lefty slider on the outside corner bailing out like that? We should try it next BP, if we can find a lefty who can hit the outside corner that is…

3 Thanks Diane! I wonder if Matsui’s magazine/video collection would have been a funnier story if he spoke English publicly or a creepier story?

Let your nerdiness show … its cute.

Someone on BP.COM mentioned using an acronym “ATP”, and I instantly thought of the Krebs Cycle.

(nerd I am)