Former Seattle Mariners Shortstop Congratulates New HOF Inductee Ichiro Suzuki
In this story:
When Ichiro Suzuki was announced as one of three former players in the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame class on Jan. 21, many people shared their stories about him and congratulated the Seattle Mariners hit king on making it to Cooperstown, N.Y.
Many of those people were former teammates of Suzuki's, including one of the most infamous players in Mariners and baseball history.
Alex Rodriguez, who played for seven seasons in Seattle from 1994-2000, took to "X" (formerly known as Twitter) to congratulate Suzuki and had high praise for the former American League MVP:
"Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki on being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame! Without a doubt one of the greatest pure hitters I've ever seen."
Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki on being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame! Without a doubt one of the greatest pure hitters I've ever seen. #halloffame #ichirosuzuki pic.twitter.com/i0g6PYVpJj
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) January 21, 2025
Shortly after Rodriguez shared his congratulations to Suzuki, the former confirmed a hilarious story about the latter.
One morning during Spring Training in 2017, Suzuki was checking his phone and received a text from a number he didn't recognize. The person said he got the number from Rodriguez and wanted to meet with Suzuki to talk about his stretching program. Coaches asked what the man's name was.
Suzuki responded "Some guy named Tom Brady. Who the f--- is Tom Brady?"
Rodriguez quote-tweeted the excerpt with a laughing emoji and said "true story."
True story 😂 @TomBrady #IchiroHOF https://t.co/g2froRl2N8
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) January 22, 2025
Suzuki and Rodriguez were never teammates with the Mariners. But the two did share a clubhouse when Suzuki was traded to the New York Yankees in 2012.
Suzuki played with the Yankees through the 2014 season and made the second and last postseason appearance of his illustrious career his first year in the Bronx in 2012. Suzuki batted .275 with a home run and five RBIs in nine games played.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
MARINERS BIGGEST RIVALS COULD BRING BACK VETERAN PLAYER: The Seattle Mariners biggest division rivals, the Houston Astros, have picked up discussions to bring back third baseman Alex Bregman. CLICK HERE
CURRENT MARINERS RELIEVER SHARES HILARIOUS MOMENT SHARED WITH ICHIRO SUZUKI: Seattle Mariners left-handed pitcher Tayler Saucedo showed a video on social media showing a funny moment between him and new 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Ichiro Suzuki. CLICK HERE
HERE'S HOW FELIX HERNANDEZ DID ON FIRST YEAR ON HALL OF FAME BALLOT: Seattle Mariners star Felix Hernandez didn't make the Baseball Hall of Fame this week, but he did enough to stay on the ballot for another year. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
