Ichiro Had Such a Wholesome Reaction in Now-Viral Interaction with Ken Griffey Jr.
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Tuesday afternoon was a big one for the Seattle Mariners - and their fans - as longtime M's legend Ichiro Suzuki was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
He'll be enshrined in a ceremony on July 27 of this year, going in alongside Billy Wagner, CC Sabathia, Dick Allen and Dave Parker.
Ichiro will become the third Mariners player in history to enter Cooperstown with an M's logo on his hat, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Ichiro earned 99.7 percent of the vote, appearing on 393 of 394 ballots.
He would have been the second player to get into the Hall of Fame unanimously, but that distinction still remains with closer Mariano Rivera.
One of the best players to ever play the game, Ichiro was a professional for 28 seasons between his time in Japan and the United States. He played for the Mariners, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins, earning more than 4,300 combined professional hits. He was a 10-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glover.
He helped the Mariners to an American-League record 116 wins in 2001 and also helped the M's get to the ALCS in 2001. Sadly, he never got to the playoffs with the Mariners again, but his legacy lives on. He won an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, three Silver Sluggers and two batting titles throughout his career.
Making the media rounds on Tuesday, Ichiro had a conversation with the crew at MLB Network. In that talk, he was surprised by fellow Hall of Famer, friend and former teammate Ken Griffey Jr.
Ichiro is known to be a long admirer of Griffey Jr. and his reaction to seeing "The Kid" blew him away. Check out his viral reaction in the clip below:
His genuine surprise upon seeing Griffey was great https://t.co/3D8rcOIdlH pic.twitter.com/btel5yYCBm
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) January 21, 2025
And for what it's worth, Ichiro is still the only person we've heard refer to as Griffey Jr. as "George."
Classic.
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