Former New York Yankees' Star, World Series Champion Hideki Matsui Loses Place in Record Books Because of Ohtani

On Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers' star Shohei Ohtani hit his 176th career home run, which gave him the most Major League home runs by Japanese players. The mark was previously held by Hideki Matsui.

Feb 27, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees guest instructor Hideki Matsui (55) is introduced / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers' star Shohei Ohtani hit his 176th career home run in a win over the New York Mets. With that homer, Ohtani now has the most home runs in Major League history by a Japanese-born player.

The player he surpassed at the top of that list? None other than former New York Yankees' star Hideki Matsui.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

that's 176 career homers for Ohtani, breaking a tie with Hideki Matsui for most by a Japanese-born player in MLB history!!

that's 176 career homers for Ohtani, breaking a tie with Hideki Matsui for most by a Japanese-born player in MLB history!! https://t.co/5FpEBoHU22

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 21, 2024

The 49-year-old Matsui spent 10 years in the big leagues with the Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics. He debuted in 2003 and played his last game in 2012. While Ichiro Suzuki had come over a few years earlier and proven that Japanese hitters could succeed in the Majors, Matsui proved that they could come over and hit for power even against pitchers they had never seen or heard of.

Matsui had a phenomenal Major League run after his stellar run in Japan. He was a two-time All-Star (2003, 2004) who hit a career-high 31 homers in 2004. He had five seasons of 20 homers or more and posted four different seasons of 100 RBI or more. Matsui also finished second in the 2003 Rookie of the Year voting and received MVP votes in two different seasons. He helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series.

Manager Dave Roberts had this to say about Matsui after the homer by Ohtani (via ESPN):

"Hideki Matsui was a great ballplayer, a great home run hitter, a world champion," Roberts said. "I know that Shohei admired him, so for him to eclipse that mark, it's a big deal. I know whatever kind of mark is ahead of Shohei, he's trying to take them all down."

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