The WVBR Sports Blog:
The Voice of the Big Red
The Voice of the Big Red
Godzilla Leaves his Mark
Original Airdate: Friday, November 6, 2009. This is a part of the 93-Second Sports Shot series. 93-Second Sports Shots air weekday nights at 6pm.
Hideki Matsui has been a more than solid producer since he arrived in New York City for the 2003 season. He's amassed grand totals of 140 home runs and 600 RBI since joining the Yankees, and aside from Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter he's been arguably the most consistent source of the New York offense in that time span. No, he never lived up to the monstrous expectations beset upon him when he decided to leave Japan for Major League Baseball…but aside from Ichiro, what Japanese player HAS lived up to the expectations?
Over time, fans in New York began to take Godzilla (as he's called) for granted. Sure, he's got a cult following among Asian fans of the Yankees, but the type of adoration that Yankee fans have displayed for the likes of Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, Williams, Martinez, Brosius, et al seems to have escaped Matsui.
The reason for this? Before the events of Wednesday, Godzilla had never brought home so much as an ALDS victory for the Yankees, and in New York, playoff performances, World Series championships to be exact, are all that counts. In a city where Aaron Boone is remembered more fondly for one home run than Mike Mussina is for his 123 wins in pinstripes, it's pretty evident where the fans' priorities lie.
Fortunately for Matsui, that all changed a couple days ago when he drove in an astounding 6 runs to bury the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 and bring the World Series trophy back to New York. In total, Matsui hit .615 in the Series, including 3 home runs and 8 RBI, earning himself MVP honors in the process.
And after 6 solid years, Hideki Matsui has finally earned himself a spot in New York Yankees lore, finally earned his stripes. Just like Jeter's walk off home run against Byung Hyun Kim. Just like Pettitte's 1-0 win against the Braves. Just like Joe Girardi's triple. Fans of the Yankees will always remember Matsui's 6 RBIs in game 6, when he made Philadelphia more traumatized by Godzilla than Tokyo. Multiple baseball analysts have postulated that Matsui has played his final game for the Yankees. If that's the case, well, he'll always have game 6. What a way to go.
Hideki Matsui has been a more than solid producer since he arrived in New York City for the 2003 season. He's amassed grand totals of 140 home runs and 600 RBI since joining the Yankees, and aside from Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter he's been arguably the most consistent source of the New York offense in that time span. No, he never lived up to the monstrous expectations beset upon him when he decided to leave Japan for Major League Baseball…but aside from Ichiro, what Japanese player HAS lived up to the expectations?
Over time, fans in New York began to take Godzilla (as he's called) for granted. Sure, he's got a cult following among Asian fans of the Yankees, but the type of adoration that Yankee fans have displayed for the likes of Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, Williams, Martinez, Brosius, et al seems to have escaped Matsui.
The reason for this? Before the events of Wednesday, Godzilla had never brought home so much as an ALDS victory for the Yankees, and in New York, playoff performances, World Series championships to be exact, are all that counts. In a city where Aaron Boone is remembered more fondly for one home run than Mike Mussina is for his 123 wins in pinstripes, it's pretty evident where the fans' priorities lie.
Fortunately for Matsui, that all changed a couple days ago when he drove in an astounding 6 runs to bury the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 and bring the World Series trophy back to New York. In total, Matsui hit .615 in the Series, including 3 home runs and 8 RBI, earning himself MVP honors in the process.
And after 6 solid years, Hideki Matsui has finally earned himself a spot in New York Yankees lore, finally earned his stripes. Just like Jeter's walk off home run against Byung Hyun Kim. Just like Pettitte's 1-0 win against the Braves. Just like Joe Girardi's triple. Fans of the Yankees will always remember Matsui's 6 RBIs in game 6, when he made Philadelphia more traumatized by Godzilla than Tokyo. Multiple baseball analysts have postulated that Matsui has played his final game for the Yankees. If that's the case, well, he'll always have game 6. What a way to go.
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~Riley Nash signs pro contract, leaves Cornell (Mon 7/19)
~Cornell Hockey adds six new players (Thu 7/15)
~No Surprise Here for Stephen Strasburg (Mon 8/30) 2 Comments
~Auburn All Star (Mon 8/16)
~World Cup - Lego Reenactment (Sun 8/15)
~Walters Injured (Mon 8/9)
~Amazing Catch (Thu 8/5)
~A-Rod* (Wed 8/4) 1 Comment
~The Quarterback who Cried Wolf (Tue 8/3)
~New York Jets Training Camp: Day 1 (Mon 8/2)
~New York Jets Training Camp Questions and Storylines (Mon 8/2)
~Greatest Baseball Injuries (Fri 7/30)
~Is the Evil Empire not that Evil? (Tue 7/27) 1 Comment
~Another No-Hitter (Mon 7/26)
~New York Jets Training Camp Questions (Thu 7/22)
~Ithacan Wins 25K Swimming World Championship (Thu 7/22)
~Do Sports Tell Us Who's Best? (Wed 7/21) 1 Comment
~Worst Sports Injury? (Wed 7/21)
~Last Thought on Lebron-Wade-Bosh (Tue 7/20) 2 Comments
~Riley Nash signs pro contract, leaves Cornell (Mon 7/19)
~Cornell Hockey adds six new players (Thu 7/15)
