Hideki Irabu was given a king's welcome in New York.
He was flown to the city in Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's private jet and given the key to the city by NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Irabu's debut in America, July 10, 1997, was a memorable event in a Yankees history filled with memorable events.
Before a weeknight audience of more than 50,000 fans, nearly one-third of whom were Japanese, and a morning television audience back in Japan of over 30 million, Irabu took the mound. Mixing a fastball in the high 150s kph, with a sharply diving forkball in the low 150s kph, he struck out nine in a 10-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.