Hideki Matsui: Should the New York Yankees resign him?
We all know that Hideki Matsui helped the Yankees win the World Series with some clutch hits in the playoffs and we saw his bashing of Pedro Martinez in game six of the World Series of 2009.
Hideki Matsui wants to be back but will the Yankees bring him back? The Yankees have a plethera of outfielders and all Matsui could do is DH since he has surgically repaired knees. He is a Red Sox killer however but we have Austin Jackson waiting down in the minors. Jackson did hit .300 but with only four home runs.
Would the Yankees take the chance of resigning him even if he says he’s going to get his knees into game shape? Will they sign Matt Holiday and let Johnny Damon walk? If they don’t resign Matsui, would the Yankees lose all the momentum they built up from the last year? Do you lose any chemistry by letting him walk? Matsui loves the crowds, the fans, his teammates and more importantly the New York Yankees.
There’s another thing the Yankees have to consider if they don’t resign Matsui. He’s one of the biggest reasons that we won 9 of the last 10 games against the Red Sox. He’s the biggest Red Sox killer out there. He killed them all season long
Where else are you going to get an established player who’s well-liked by his teammates and fans that can put up his numbers? If us Yankee fans want new players maybe we should pay more attention to our minor league clubs. The Yankees won 103 games with Matsui in a tough division, a tough league, and an even tougher World Series. Making unnecessary changes in the off season might not be the answer.
However, by not signing Matsui would allow veteran players like Posada, Jeter, A-Rod, Texeira and Swisher to play DH and stay fresh for the whole season.
Could Johnny Damon be more valuable to the team than Matsui with his speed on the bases? If Damon comes back, Damon and Posada will have to split time at DH. It’s a shame, but there’s simply no room for Matsui. Hopefully he’ll be content to returning to Japan and consider his mission here in the US a rousing success. He’ll probably be able to command a much higher salary in Japan than anyone would be willing to pay him in the United States. Even without him, there’s still a logjam in the outfield, with Austin Jackson likely ready for the majors and Xavier Nady coming back from injury.
Sign him to a one year deal or no? I say…. I’m not sure. That’s why I don’t get paid to run the New York Yankees.
Tags: Hideki Matsui, new york yankees, should the new york yankees resign hideki matsui?, Yankees, yankeesdaily
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November 9th, 2009 at 8:49 AM
If Yanks try to bargen Matsui’s salary, he should compare with other team’s offer.
Because the less his salary becomes, the less the necessity to use him in lineup becomes.
Over half of MLB games broadcasted in Japan are of Yankees for Matsui.
There are several commercial plates of Japanese firms in Yankee Stadium for the broadcast.
Most of Japanese fans come to Yankee stadium for Matsui and buy his goods.
So, Yankees must have made both ends meet on Matsui and so can next team do.
Therefore, Matsui should stick to his hope how much the team gives him chance to play.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
I didn’t think about that. He does bring in a lot of fans from Japan and the Yankees have a lot of business like you said with the Japanese firms. Matsui is a big money maker for the Yankees.
If the Yankees tell him that he’ll play a lot for them, I expect him to resign but if they relegate him to DH, I doubt he’ll sign because the Yankees have a lot of DH’s already.