Hideki Matsui: Japanese Newspaper Announces Slugger May Be Retiring in 2013
December 27, 2012 · Gary Ousdahl · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Update: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports Matsui will retire.
According to the Japanese news outlet Sanspo.com, Hideki Matsui is seriously considering retiring and staying in his native Japan.
After being cut by the Tampa Bay Rays in middle of last season, Matsui has expressed that he no longer seems to have the strong desire to continue playing and has cut back on regular workouts—no longer training as hard as he used to.
The slugger, who has 507 career home runs between Japan and the United States, says he is not 100 percent sure that he is retiring from baseball. But he also hasn’t set a timetable for his return this year or reserved his usual training facilities. He also admitted to cleaning out his American storage unit in the article.
In a 10-year American baseball career (20-year total), “Godzilla” has a lifetime .282 batting average, 175 home runs, 656 runs scored, 760 RBI, and 1,253 hits in 4,442 at-bats.
He also owns a .312 batting average in postseason play with 10 home runs, 32 runs scored, 39 RBI and 64 hits in 205 career at-bats.
Matsui also played in six American League Divisional Series, three American League Championship Series and two World Series, winning a ring with the Yankees in 2009 and being named the series MVP.
Matsui was also a two-time All-Star, received MVP votes in 2004 and 2005 and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2003 at the age of 29.
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