- Graduated from Seiryô High School.
- Hit 60 home runs as a high school student.
- Is nicknamed "Godzilla" because of his power-hitting. At the Tokyo Dome gift shop, there is merchandise (T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) of Godzilla in a Giants baseball shirt (with # 55, Matsui's number). Matsui is also a Godzilla fan, and at the baseball games, Akira Ifukube's famous "Godzilla" theme is played when Matsui steps up to bat.
- Outfielder (#55) of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team in Japan.
- Outfielder with the New York Yankees (2003-2009), Los Angeles Angels (2010), Oakland A's (2011), and Tampa Bay Rays (2012).
- Made major league debut 31 March 2003; appeared in final major league game 22 July 2012.
- Named to Baseball Digest magazine's 2003 Rookie All-Star Team.
- All-time favorite movie is The Natural (1984).
- Announced in a press release that he eloped, identifying his bride only as "a 25 year old civilian" from Japan; Matsui has yet to reveal her name. Speculation is that he married to win a bet he made with Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu as to which one would get married first. (26 March 2008).
- Nicknamed "Shemp" by his Yankees teammates because of his similar hair style to Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges.
- Just completed his first season as a member of the New York Yankees. (October 2003)
- Most Valuable Player of 2009 World Series (2009).
- Inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
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