What is Hideki Matsui's Net Worth?
Hideki Matsui is a former Japanese professional baseball player who has a net worth of $60 million. During his MLB career alone, Hideki earned $83 million in salary.
Hideki Matsui spent the first ten seasons of his career in Japan with NPB's Yomiuri Giants, with which he won three Japan Series titles. During his Japanese career Hideki maintained a batting average of .304, hit a total of 332 home runs, and hit record of 889 RBIs. In Japan, he was a nine-time All-star, a three-time Japan Series champion, a three-time CL MVP, received the Best Nine Award eight times, is a three-time NPB All-star Game MVP, received the Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize in both 2000 and 2003, was the Japan Series MVP in 2000, and earned the Matsutaro Shoriki Award in 2000.
After that, he joined the MLB's New York Yankees, with which he won the 2009 World Series. Matsui spent the final years of his professional baseball career with the MLB's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays. His American career statistics include a batting average of .282, a total of 175 home runs, and an accumulation of 760 runs batted in. His American career highlights include being a two-time All-star in 2003 and 2004, a 2009 World Series champion, and the title of World Series MVP in 2009.
Early Life and Education
Hideki Matsui was born on June 12, 1974 in Neagari, Ishikawa, Japan. As a teenager, he was recruited by Seiryo High School in Kanazawa. As a student, Matsui competed in four National High School Baseball Tournaments, and in 1992 drew major attention when he had five consecutive intentional walks in a single game. Although the strategy was considered unsportsmanlike, it successfully prevented Matsui's team from winning.
Yomiuri Giants
After leaving high school, Matsui was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. Although his first three seasons with the team were mostly unremarkable, he was part of the Giants' Japan Series victory in 1994. Matsui had his breakout season in 1996 when he batted .314 with 38 home runs and 99 RBIs. He went on to become a huge star in NPB, leading the league in home runs and RBIs three times (1998, 2000, and 2002) and earning Japanese Central League MVP honors three times (1996, 2000, and 2002). Matsui also won two more Japan Series titles with the Giants, in 2000 and 2002. His streak of 1,250 consecutive games played was the second-longest in Japan's history.
New York Yankees
Following his ten-season tenure with the Yomiuri Giants, Matsui came to the United States and signed with the MLB's New York Yankees in late 2002. He went on to make his MLB debut in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 31, 2003. Later, at the Yankees home opener, Matsui hit a grand slam, making him the first Yankee ever to do so in his first game at Yankee Stadium. He finished the regular season with a .287 batting average, 16 home runs, and 106 RBIs. The Yankees advanced to the postseason, and finally to the World Series, where Matsui became the first Japanese player ever to hit a World Series home run. Ultimately, the Florida Marlins won the championship in six games. In the 2004 season, Matsui finished with a .298 batting average, 31 home runs, and 108 RBIs. The following season, he set MLB career highs with a .305 batting average and 116 RBIs. Matsui missed most of the 2006 season due to a wrist injury, but managed to bat .302 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs.
In the 2007 season, Matsui became the first Japanese player ever to hit 100 home runs in the MLB. Hobbled by injury the next season, he batted .295. Matsui came back strong in 2009, his final season with the Yankees. That year, he broke the team's record for single-season home runs by a designated hitter, with 26. The Yankees went on to play in the World Series against the defending champs the Philadelphia Phillies, with Matsui contributing three home runs and eight RBIs in his team's eventual six-game victory. For his performance, he received World Series MVP honors, making him the first Japanese-born player to win that distinction. Further, Matsui became only the third MLB player ever to bat .500 or above and hit three home runs in a single World Series, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
In late 2009, Matsui signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He finished the regular season with a .274 batting average, 21 home runs, and 84 RBIs across 145 games. Matsui subsequently became a free agent, and in late 2010 was denied salary arbitration from the Angels.
Oakland Athletics
Staying in California, Matsui signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics at the end of 2010. In April of the ensuing season, he scored his 2,500th hit, and in July recorded his 500th home run.
Tampa Bay Rays
In the spring of 2012, Matsui signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays and joined the team's Triple-A affiliate the Durham Bulls. About two weeks later, he was called up to the Rays for a game against the Chicago White Sox. Matsui went on to have a disappointing season, batting just .147 in his first two months. He was ultimately waived by the Rays at the start of August.
Retirement
Matsui ended his professional baseball career in the summer of 2013 after signing a one-day contract with the New York Yankees, and then formally retiring. The Yankees held a ceremony for him, as did the Japanese government in Tokyo. In early 2018, Matsui was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame as the youngest player ever, at the age of 43, to be inducted.
Personal Life
In March of 2008, Matsui announced that he had gotten married in a private ceremony in New York. He did not disclose the name of his wife, with whom he has two sons. They own an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut and an apartment in NYC's Upper West Side.
