Kazuo matsui biography shortstop

Career Regular Season

ABAVGHRRBISBOPS
2302.26732211102.701

Kazuo Matsui Bio

  • Fullname: Kazuo Matsui
  • Nickname: Kaz
  • Born: 10/23/1975 in Osaka, Japan
  • High School: PL Gauken, Osaka, JPN
  • Debut: 4/06/2004
YearABRHHRRBISBAVGOBPOPS
Career Regular Season230233061532211102.267.321.701

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League Rankings

Stolen Bases

YearSBRank
20091923rd in NL
20082019th in NL
2007329th in NL
20041423rd in NL

Triples

Year3BRank
2007612th in NL
2005419th in NL

Latest Transactions

Kazuo Matsui

Japanese baseball player & coach (born 1975)

Baseball player

Kazuo Matsui
松井 稼頭央

Matsui with the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2018

Infielder / Outfielder / Coach / Manager
Born: (1975-10-23) October 23, 1975 (age 49)
Higashiōsaka, Osaka, Japan

Batted: Switch

Threw: Right

NPB: April 5, 1995, for the Seibu Lions
MLB: April 6, 2004, for the New York Mets
MLB: May 18, 2010, for the Houston Astros
NPB: October 6, 2018, for the Saitama Seibu Lions
Batting average.291
Hits2,090
Home runs201
Runs batted in837
Stolen bases363
Batting average.267
Hits615
Home runs32
Runs batted in211
Stolen bases102
Stats at Baseball Reference 
As player

As coach

As Manager

  • Homered on the first pitch of his MLB career
  • Homered in his first at bat for the first three seasons of his MLB career
  • 4× Mitsui Golden Glove Award (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003)
  • 7× Best Nine Award at Shortstop (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,

    Nippon Professional League: In 1994 he began his pro career with the Seibu Lions wearing #32. Matsui was an All-star shortstop in Japan, winning seven Best Nine awards, four gold gloves and two stolen base titles. Matsui's teams won four titles but never the final championship series.


    In 2004 he became the first Japanese infielder to sign with a major league team when he became a New York Met.


    Mets MLB Career:
    Matsui debuted on Opening Day 2004 batting leadoff & playing short stop. Jose Reyes was just in his second year & was moved over to play second base due to the expectations of Matsui & his play in Japan.

    Big Debut: In a triumphant debut he hit a HR in his first MLB at bat, coming off the Braves Russ Ortiz, in a 7-1 Mets win at Turner Field. Matsui became the second player in MLB history to hit his first career HR in his first career at bat leading off a season. The Phillies Emmet Mueller did it in 1938.

    Matsui collected three hits that day, becoming the first Met since Preston Wilson in 1998 to have three hits in h

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