Feb 28, 2003 4 min read

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Hideki Matsui’s career with the New York Yankees got off to powerful start. Matsui, the Yankees’ star Japanese import, homered in his second spring training at-bat Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds.

After grounding out in the second inning, Matsui came to bat with a man on first base and two outs in the third. He worked the count full against Jimmy Anderson – with a few fans chanting “Mat-su-i” – before pulling a line drive down the right-field line for his first American home run.

Matsui trotted around the bases, showing little emotion, before slapping hands with on-deck hitter Jorge Posada and the rest of the Yankees as he went back to the dugout.

The crowd, thinned out by the rain, cheered the Yankees’ newest star, who signed a $21 million, three-year contract with the team in the offseason.

Matsui might have been the only person who wasn’t ready for his spring training debut – which was shown live on high-definition television at 3:15 a.m. in Japan.

Matsui’s every move was followed by hundreds of reporters as he walked on the field to stretch about three hours before the game. He was much more reserved about his first game.

“For me personally, I’d like a little bit more time to prepare,” he said Wednesday through an interpreter. “I’m not mentally ready yet, but I’m doing my best right now.”

The Yankees’ other big international acquisition didn’t fare as well. Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras gave up five runs, including a grand slam by Adam Dunn, in two innings.

There were 11 other games across Florida and Arizona on Thursday, highlighted by new Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker taking on his former team, the San Francisco Giants, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It is spring training. I’ve got a lot of guys over there I care about,” Baker said. “I know half of the staff. It’ll be a little different for me to come out of the other clubhouse.”

In other games in Arizona on Thursday, Surprise Stadium hosted its first matchup, a charity game between Texas and Kansas City; Seattle and San Diego played a charity game; Arizona faced Colorado and Oakland played Milwaukee.

The other Florida games were Detroit vs. Los Angeles, Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Baltimore vs. Florida, Atlanta vs. Georgia Tech, the Mets vs. St. Louis, and Minnesota vs. Boston.

But the biggest focus was on Matsui.

“I’m more excited to watch him in games now,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “I feel a little bit better about his early results. I still stress patience. It’s tough to get used to a new crop of pitchers.”

Even Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who has been known to lose his temper in spring training, is preaching patience for his new star. When asked before the game if he was excited about the big day, Steinbrenner replied: “It’s spring training.”

But Matsui knows he’ll have to produce soon or all those homers he hit in Japan won’t mean anything.

“I’m not going to look into the results too seriously for the first few games,” he said. “But obviously, I haven’t earned the starting roster yet. For my teammates and coaches, I want to make sure I do my best out there.”

Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who knows what it’s like to be in the spotlight, gave Matsui some advice before his first game.

“Basically, I said, not to worry,” Jackson said. “Worry if you don’t have the talent, but he has the talent.”

Matsui is a celebrity back home and is followed by a horde of Japanese journalists in Florida.

He was a three-time MVP in the Central League, playing for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, Japan’s most renowned team. Matsui hit 332 homers in 10 seasons with the Giants, including 50 last year.

While his prodigious power earned him the nickname Godzilla, Matsui has impressed the Yankees with his disciplined approach at the plate.

Matsui is the first power hitter to come over from Japan and some scouts questioned whether he’d be able to adjust as easily as slap-hitting Ichiro Suzuki did with Seattle, when he won the AL MVP award as a rookie two years ago.

The Yankees are confident Matsui will be a success.

“He’s got a very manageable swing against pretty much anybody,” Torre said. “When I think of left-handed hitters, I’m thinking more uppercut type swings. He’s more of a line-drive type level swing than most of your left-handers.”