But as soon as the 2003 campaign began, Hideki reassumed his role as national hero. The Yankees started the campaign in Toronto, and all the eyes of Japan were on the New York left fielder. Conservative estimates said that one in three televisions in Hideki’s homeland were tuned into Yanks’ opener against the Blue Jays, even though it aired at 8:00 on a Monday morning. (The Toronto front office, anticipating a huge TV audience overseas, ran banner ads in Japanese behind home plate.) Hideki didn’t disappoint, collecting a single and an RBI in an 8-4 victory.

Hideki hit in his next six games and made several nifty plays in the outfield. But his biggest moment came in New York’s home opener against the Minnesota Twins. Striding to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, he crushed a 3-2 delivery from Joe Mays into the right-center field bleachers. Yankee Stadium exploded in cheers, as Hideki officially earned his pinstripes.

The grand slam also stamped Hideki as a player most dangerous in the clutch—a talent critical on a team that didn’t manufacture a whole lot of runs. It wasn’t that the New York lineup wasn’t powerful. With Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter at the top of the batting order and Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada in the middle, the Yanks had enough big bats. But manager Joe Torre knew that his team would score more often than not via the three-run homer.

In the all-or-nothing American League, that offensive philosophy would serve the club fine in the regular season. Also a plus was New York’s veteran pitching staff. Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens and David Wells comprised one of baseball’s deepest and most experienced rotations. Closer Mariano Rivera was the best in the business. Even with a muddled mixture of middle relievers, the Yankees appeared to be a lock to return to the post-season.

But injuries nagged the team all year long. Jeter missed six weeks with a dislocated right shoulder, Williams was out even longer with a bum knee, Soriano was slowed by hand injuries and Giambi battled a series of bumps and bruises. In their absences, Hideki played every game and developed into the club’s most reliable hitter.

Early in the year, Hideki concentrated on putting the ball in play. He hit a lot of grounders and line drives. Fans griped about his lack of power, but it arrived in a big way during a spring series with the Cincinnati Reds, when he clouted a key homer and finally began driving the ball with authority. Meanwhile, his all-around game—including some sparkling defense in both left and center—was remarkably consistent.

The Red Sox pushed the Yanks from opening day for the division lead, and Hideki never cracked under the pressure. June was a particularly good month, as he batted a sizzling .394 with six homers and 29 RBIs. And unlike his countryman Ichiro, he didn’t fade down the stretch. Hideki finished the year as a leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year (.287, 16 homers, 42 doubles and 106 RBIs).

New York, meanwhile, held off the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. That set up a first-round meeting with the Twins. When Minnesota won Game 1, fans in the Bronx wondered what was wrong with the Yankees. Pettitte answered their concerns with a masterful performance to knot the series. In Game 3, Hideki lifted his team with a huge home run. Expecting Kyle Lohse to try to tie him up with hard stuff, he jumped all over a high fastball and hammered it into the Metrodome’s upper deck in right field. The Yanks went on to a 3-1 victory behind Clemens, and then closed out the Twins a day later.

Up next were the Red Sox in the ALCS. The series was a nailbiter from the very first pitch through Aaron Boone’s 11th inning homer to win Game 7. Along the way there were surprising pitching performances,