1. Hideki Matsui
Godzilla came to the Bronx, but he didn’t destroy it. He just destroyed the Yankees’ opponents.
He did it all. On defense, he was a reliable outfielder who made some stellar plays. On offense, he tore the cover off the ball, including a grand slam in his first game at Yankee Stadium.
Matsui continued to deliver over the years and ended up becoming the World Series MVP in 2009 when the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
During that series, he hit .615 with three home runs. Most importantly, he became the first full-time DH and Japanese-born player to win the coveted WS MVP award.
There is no shortage of highlights for the Yankees and Godzilla. Since his arrival in 2003, he provided reliability and monster moon shots for the Yankees.
After his career in New York, Matsui bounced around teams until his retirement in 2012 but will ultimately go down as the best Japanese-born player to ever sport the navy blue pinstripes.
