LOOK: Former Yankees' Slugger Hideki Matsui Serves As Torchbearer At Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony
(CBSNewYork)- The Tokyo Olympics officially got underway Friday morning with the Opening Ceremony taking place at Tokyo National Stadium. Along with the thousands of athletes in attendance who are vying for medals over the next three weeks, the New York Yankees had some representation. Former Yankees designated hitter Hideki Matsui served as one of the Olympic torchbearers for the event.
Hideki Matsui, Olympic torchbearer. #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/tcSfeuulYz
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) July 23, 2021
The 47-year-old Matsui is a native of Japan and a legend of the Nippon Professional Baseball league there for his exploits with the Yomiuri Giants from 1993-2002. He joined the Yankees for the 2003 season and in his seven seasons with the team, the man nicknamed "Godzilla" hit 140 homers and drove in 597 runs.
He was the MVP of the 2009 World Series after helping defeat the Philadelphia Phillies by hitting .615 with three homers, eight doubles and eight RBI in the series. Matsui was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 with 91.3% of the vote.