Hideki Matsui, who hit 332 homers in Japan before signing with the Yankees in 2003, hit his 168th MLB homer Wednesday off the Tigers’ Duane Below in Oakland’s 7-5 victory. Add it all up and that’s 500 career home runs for Godzilla.
Matsui has seven homers so far this season. A two-time All-Star in the U.S., he had his best season with the Yankees in 2004, hitting 31 homers in 584 at-bats. He peaked two years earlier in Japan, hitting 50 homers on his way to his third MVP award as a Yomiuri Giant.
Matsui also went over 2,500 hits and 1,600 RBI earlier this season. He’s a career .285/.364/.469 hitter with 722 RBI in 1,142 games in the majors.