Washington Native Drew Rasmussen Shares Stories of His Ichiro Suzuki Fandom as a Kid

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Growing up in Spokane, Wash., Tampa Bay All-Star pitcher Drew Rasmussen was a huge Seattle Mariners fan, and Ichiro Suzuki was one of his heroes. And even now when Rasmussen is a big-leaguer himself. there's still a lot of admiration for Suzuki.

The great hitter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. on Sunday. He played with the Mariners from 2001 to 2012, and concluded his career there in 2018 and 2019. He had 3,089 hits in the majors — and that after playing nine years of pro ball in Japan.

“That's really cool,'' Rasmussen said Sunday of Ichiro's Hall of Fame induction. "He’s one of a couple guys from my childhood that I grew up rooting for and cheering on every single day. At the time when my parents or my grandparents would take me to a game at Safeco — (the stadium name) at the time — he was one of the players that I always looked forward to seeing.

“No, I never (got his autograph), but I’m hoping we can try to fulfill that dream when we’re in Seattle this year. That would be a really special one, that’s for sure.''

The Rays play in Seattle on the Aug. 8-10 weekend, which is devoted to a Suzuki celebration every night. On Aug. 9, they are retiring his jersey.

“I’m pretty sure that we’re there for his jersey retirement in Seattle, and I’m really looking forward to seeing that,'' Rasmussen said. "Like I said, he was one of my childhood heroes, and for him to go into the Hall of Fame and see his jersey retirement in a couple of weeks is a really cool experience.

“The organization wouldn’t be where they are without him. He was so good and so special for such a long time in Seattle. That’s what hits close to home for me. It was an honor and a blessing watching him play growing up. It’ll definitely be a special couple of weeks.’'

Rasmussen, who is in his sixth year in the majors, turned 30 on Sunday. He's always loved the game, and was a huge fan as a kid who loved going to games in Seattle.

“It was probably in the early 2000s, and I remember a walk-off hit one night,'' Rasmussen said, smiling at the memory. "We were sitting 10-15 rows behind the home dugout and I’m trying to think if he got the hit or scored the run.

"It was one of those things were my grandpa was saying, ‘we’re down 3-1 in the eighth, maybe we can beat traffic.’ And he let a 6-7-8 year-old talk him into staying. And sure enough, they ended up walking off. I can’t even remember who they were playing, but you’re sitting there thinking, 'if we can just get to Ichiro, he’ll come through.' ’’

There are kids in Tampa Bay who feel the same way about Rasmussen these days. He made his first All-Star Game this season and is a fan favorite. He is 7-5 with a 2.93 earned run average and has a 27-17 career record with a 2.95 ERA.

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