Derek Jeter called him “one of my favorite teammates.” General manager Brian Cashman said he “represents everything the Yankees aspire to be.”
Hideki Matsui, the object of that praise and admiration, simply said he was honored and humbled.
Matsui returned to the Yankees and Yankee Stadium, where he enjoyed his finest major league moments, with a one-day minor league contract yesterday. Matsui, who unofficially retired last December, signed the deal so he could formally retire as a Yankee.
“I’d like to thank the Yankees organization from the bottom of my heart,” Matsui said through a translator before signing the ceremonial deal with Cashman and assistant GM Jean Afterman. “I’ve always aspired to be a member of the New York Yankees and to have been able to do that for seven years, every day was an absolute joy.
“To win the World Series with the New York Yankees … in 2009, it’s just an amazing feeling,” added Matsui, whose mother, Saeko, father, Masao, and brother, Toshiki, attended the day — along with an intimate gathering of about 100 Japanese media members.
“To be able to come back [and] become a Yankee and to retire as a Yankee, I’m just so humbled and honored,” said Matsui, who played for the Angels, Athletics and Rays after the Yankees.
Not coincidentally, it was “Hideki Matsui Bobblehead Day,” honoring the 2009 World Series MVP on a day when Jeter again returned from injury.
“I’m happy I’m here,” Jeter said. “I always said how much I appreciated Matsu as a teammate.
… It’s just a coincidence that I’m back for it but I’m glad.“He was supposed to be just this ‘Godzilla’ that hits home runs, but he was a situational hitter. Matsui moved runners when he had to move them, he got big hits, drove guys in. He never made excuses. … He’s always been one of my favorite teammates and he always will be.”
When asked what he would say to Matsui, Jeter joked, “Ojiisan.”
Translation? “Old man.”
Matsui, who said he has no immediate plans, returned Jeter’s compliment — the good part, not the old man stuff.
“I have the utmost respect for him as a teammate,” Matsui said. “It’s quite an honor as a human being and as a player to be respected in that way. I have the same feeling toward him.”
Matsui, who hit .292 with 140 home runs as a Yankee, was honored before the game on the field.
“This will be a moment I will never forget. To be able to retire as a member of the team I aspired to, looked up to, there’s nothing more fulfilling,” Matsui said.
Unless you’re giving the sendoff.
“When we signed Hideki Matsui,” Cashman said, “I remember thanking the people of Japan for sharing such a treasure with us.
“Everybody remembers how clutch he was. I’m wearing a ring on this finger, this particular ring,… the 2009 ring, thanks to Hideki Matsui’s efforts.”