Saturday, December 2, 2023

I Have Never Written A Post About Hideki Matsui

Matsui-Mania was a thing for a few weeks in Durham back in 2012. I am not quite sure how I have never sat down and typed a few words about the long-time Yomiuri Giants and New York Yankees star. He was far from his prime and clinging to his professional career, but it was still fun to see him a few times in-person. One of those games was against Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice K) who was on an injury rehab assignment for the Red Sox.  

Here is a grainy video of him launching a ball out to centerfield at the DBAP, only to get robbed of a home run. It's a tough park to hit a home run.  



Hideki Matsui only played stateside for a few years, but I think one of the biggest reasons I have never written about him is the fact that his cards were always seemingly out of my price range. It's hard to justify a three digit number for an autograph of a player who was only on the Bulls for a month at the end of his career.

I was surprised recently in an uptick in Matsui cards on social media, blogger, etc. Matsui has signed a lot of cards for Topps in 2023 and they are a fraction of the price they used to be. When you factor in his profile as a Japanese player and the fact that he was a World Series MVP for the Yankees, it's a pretty reasonable number.  

First Matsui post, first Matsui autograph.  



Hideki Matsui was easily the biggest name missing from my collection of Durham Bulls autographs. This card feels really satisfying.  

5 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your get. The only thing I remember about him is/was his extensive porn collection. And the only reason I know about that is because a place I used to work had the local sports station on all day, every day, and one of the shows that I was forced to listen to every single day was Jim Rome's program (I was not a fan btw), and I can remember one day where that was the topic-du-jour for seemingly the whole three hours!!! It felt like 10 though. Why anyone would ever willingly choose to listen to that show, I will never know. Anyway, that's all I know about old Hideki.

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    Replies
    1. I was unaware of Hideki's extensive porn collection. I was only aware of Carlos Martinez's (former Cardinals pitcher) love for porn on Twitter. I agree, Jim Rome is horrid. Wasn't there an NFL quarterback who beat him up mid-show?

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    2. Yeah, Jim Everett. Although that was long before I was forced to listen to the show.

      And on an unrelated note, I went to try and send you an email, only to find that I apparently don't have your email address. I could've swore that I did, but I guess I was thinking of the old days with the Twitter DM's. Anyway, if you're not comfortable posting your email here, could you send me a message (jtef82@gmail.com). I've got a couple of cards to see if you want.

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  2. I discovered that Matsui played for the Bulls a few years ago... when you sent me his Durham Bulls card in a care package. It's definitely one of my favorite cards of his in my collection. I'd like to add an auto one day... but with my limited budget I need the price to come down a wee bit more.

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    Replies
    1. Matsui autographs have plummeted in value over recent years. Hopefully they come down a little more for you.

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106.

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