This is kinda cool.

[TopDawg]

SAN DIEGO - Kazuo Matsui of the New York Mets hit an inside-the-park home run on Thursday night, the third straight year he's homered in his first at-bat of the season.

Matsui was activated from the 15-day disabled list before the game. He opened the season on the DL with a sprained ligament in his right knee.

Leading off the second inning, Matsui hit a fly ball off Padres ace Jake Peavy that glanced off the glove of retreating right fielder Brian Giles, bounced off a sign on the fence and rolled along the fence toward the right-center gap.

The relay throw arrived at the plate just as Matsui did, but catcher Mike Piazza couldn't hold onto the ball.

It was Matsui's first career inside-the-park homer, and the first by a Mets player since Marlon Anderson did it against the Los Angeles Angels last June 11.

As a rookie in 2004, Matsui became the second player in big league history to hit his first home run in his first at-bat while leading off a game to start a season.

[AllAboutThe'O']

Three straight years he's homered in his first at-bat? That's gotta be a record.

EDIT: I found out the last person to do it was Ken Griffey Jr., when he played for the Mariners in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

[AllAboutThe'O']

Also, Julio Franco became the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run when he hit a two-run homer as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning tonight.
Franco, allegedly 47, already was the oldest player to hit a pinch-hit homer. The previous oldest player to homer was Jack Quinn, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, who was 46 when he homered back on June 27, 1930.