Godzilla

Hideki Matsui, aka Godzilla, used to practice Judo before he started playing baseball in elementary school.

His favorite technique was Uchimata.

It would be nice to see him in Judo gi.

I lived in USA for a few years in 1980s.

There were no Japanese players in the Major League Baseball then.

I could not even imagine a Japanese player playing in the MLB at that time.

Matsui joined the New York Yankees in 2003, and proved himself to be a class act.

How thrilling it was for me to see him hit a home run in the Yankees uniform!

His homers lifted the spirits of millions of people in Japan including mine.

Matsui announced he had retired from professional baseball.

The announcement came as a surprise to me, because I believe he still can play.

Matsui san, thank you very much for making me proud to be your fellow countryman.

(December 2012)