Charity event will answer age-old question: Who would win a home run derby, Jeter or Matsui?
Jeter and Matsui will hold HR derby for charity
In his 20-year career, Derek Jeter never participated in the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby. But in March, he'll face off against former teammate Hideki Matsui in a dinger derby as part of a larger charity event in Tokyo to raise money for child victims of the tsunami that devastated the country four years ago.
It'll be good to see the two former Yankees together again, and even better to see them helping out for a great cause, but that doesn't prevent us from hoping that the two take this competition seriously -- because we certainly are.
Don't you want to know who can hit more home runs head-to-head, Derek Jeter or Hideki Matsui? It's an age-old question.
And, of course, we can make some predictions. With such little in the way of previous Jeter derby experience, we have to make do with the comparable statistics that we have. Regardless, let the prognostication begin!
Matsui has 175 MLB home runs in 10 seasons and his best single-season total was 31 in 2004. Before that, he hit 332 homers in 10 seasons in Japan. Over the course of 20 seasons, Jeter hit 260 total home runs, including a career-best 24 in 1999.
For a closer comparison, let's specifically look at home run data from 2009 (courtesy ESPN's Home Run Tracker) -- the last year Jeter and Matsui were teammates on the Yankees.
Total HR: 18
Longest HR: 432 ft. (Safeco Park)
Longest Yankee Stadium HR: 423 ft.
Total HR: 28
Longest HR: 445 ft. (Angel Stadium)
Longest Yankee Stadium HR: 430 ft.
Matsui has a slim advantage pretty much anyway you slice it. But we still think The Captain will bring his A-game. Plus, Jeter has the age advantage: He's younger by two whole weeks.
Plus, their dingers are pretty much equal when it comes to the eye test. Check out their final home runs at Yankee Stadium:
Matsui's:
And Jeter's:
