Game recognizes game. You know the drill.
While the Seattle Mariners hosted the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night, two legendary Japanese athletes greeted one another on the field.
Game recognize game. 🇯🇵❤️ pic.twitter.com/pqDvkpliS3
— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2023
Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki shared the outfield while offering one another praise.
This isn’t the first time the two have met, of course. Not even close.
Ohtani talked about his special relationship with Ichiro when the two met for dinner earlier in his career.
What kind of advice would a guy like Ichiro give? Well, it was quite simple.
“But he basically told me: ‘Remember to be yourself. You made it this far being yourself, so don’t change that, stay within yourself.’ And I kind of had to think about that,” Ohtani said back in January 2022. “I’m the type of person who’s always modifying a little bit, a little tweak in form here and there, always changing. Which kind of contradicts with what Ichiro was saying. But as I’ve really thought about it over the last few years, I’ve realized that that’s me, that’s who I am—actually changing stuff around.”
The advice worked.
Despite his superstar status, Ohtani’s remained humbled during his MLB tenure. Even with a huge free agency ahead of him.
Angels owner Arte Moreno did say that if the team is making its way toward the playoffs, he won’t even entertain a trade for the two-way player. At the moment, the Dodgers appear to be the favorite to land Ohtani this offseason. And the former AL MVP made it clear he wants to play for a winning organization.
Ichiro spent 19 seasons in MLB earning 10 All-Star selects and an MVP. Ohtani is well on his way to an illustrious career of his own.
[MLB on Twitter, Angels Nation]
