Japan wasted little time in celebrating Hideki Matsui's first home run as a Yankee.
"Grand Slam Bullet," blared the headline on the front of a two-page special edition of Sports Hochi newspaper distributed on the streets of Tokyo on Wednesday morning.
After Bernie Williams was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out in the fifth, Matsui worked the count to full against Joe Mays before hitting a grand slam into the right-field bleachers to gave the Yankees a 7-1 lead. New York went on to defeat the Minnesota Twins 7-3.
The game was shown live starting at 5 a.m. local time by national broadcaster NHK.
"It was fantastic," said company employee Yuji Shimabukuro, who woke up early to watch the game before going to work. "He has a habit of coming through in situations like that."
Matsui became the first New York Yankee to hit a grand slam in his first game at Yankee Stadium.
Japanese fans are eager to see how the first power hitter from Japan will fare in the major leagues.
"I think he'll get better as the season goes on," added Shimabukuro. "But he's definitely off to a good start."
Matsui, who signed a $21 million, three-year contract in the off season, was 8-for-28 in his first six games on the road. He waited until his debut at Yankee Stadium to slam the first homer of his major league career.
