One of the Few Great Foreign Players: Hideki Matsui hits his 500th home run

Frequently teams go after talent abroad in hopes of finding the next big league star. Many of these players come from Japan. But for every Hideki Matsui or Ichiro, there are ten times as many Kei Igawas. However, the New York Yankees picked a gem when they signed Hideki Matsui.

The Yankees signed Hideki after his 2002 season with the Yomiuri Giants in which he hit 50 home runs. In 2003, his first year with the Yankees, he only hit 16 home runs. He never hit below 23 home runs for the other four seasons in which Matsui stayed healthy. His power proved crucial when he slugged three home runs in the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Now after nine MLB seasons with the Yankees, Angels, and Athletics, and ten seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, Matsui hit his 500th professional home run. He hit a solo home run off Detroit Tiger's pitcher, Duane Below, in the sixth inning to give the A's a 3-2 lead. Congratulations, Hideki. You deserve it.