Minor League Baseball

Seattle Mariners' Hall of Famer Gifts Chicago White Sox Minor Leaguer Incredible Gift

Recently, Chicago White Sox prospect Rikuu Nishida got a chance to meet his idol, Ichiro Suzuki. However, the exchange went beyond that, with Ichiro sending over a game-used bat.

Brady Farkas

Oregon infielder Rikuu Nishida celebrates after scoring a game tying run in the fourth inning during an NCAA college baseball tournament Super Regional game Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Eugene, Ore. Oral Roberts won 8-7.
Oregon infielder Rikuu Nishida celebrates after scoring a game tying run in the fourth inning during an NCAA college baseball tournament Super Regional game Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Eugene, Ore. Oral Roberts won 8-7. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

Recently, we told you about a great story involving Chicago White Sox prospect Rikuu Nishida and his meeting of Ichiro Suzuki during a Cactus League game between the White Sox and Seattle Mariners.

However, the greatness didn't stop there apparently. In addition to meeting Nishida, Ichiro sent a game-used, autographed bat over to the White Sox facility in Glendale.

Nishida had it presented to him by Jim Thome, who is a Hall of Famer himself. You can see the video of the gift exchange below.

That's the wholesome content we all need during spring training. Nishida said he's not a big fan of autographs, but he loves this one and will get a big case to display the bat in.

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 also won two batting titles and three Silver Slugger Awards.

He helped the Mariners to an American-League record 116 wins in 2001 and also helped the M's get to the ALCS that same year. Sadly, he never got to the playoffs with the Mariners again, but his legacy lives on. He won the Rookie of the Year and the American League MVP that season. He'll be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame later this summer.

Ichiro is the the first Japanese player to make the Hall of Fame. He will be the third player with a Mariners logo on his Hall of Fame plaque, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez.

Nishida is not part of the White Sox top-30 prospect list (per MLB Pipeline), having been selected in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Oregon.

He is a .293 hitter in the minors (147 games) and made 11 appearances at Double-A Birmingham last season, hitting .333. For a White Sox team that finished 41-121 last season, all prospect development is good news.

Related MiLB Stories

M's MAKE MULTIPLE MOVES: The Mariners made several roster moves on Friday, including sending multiple spring training standouts to minor league camp. CLICK HERE:

KYLE TEEL RAKING: While it still seems unlikely that he makes the Opening Day roster, Chicago White Sox top prospect Kyle Teel is showing out this spring following a trade from the Red Sox. CLICK HERE:

AWARD HONOREES: The Toronto Blue Jays honored their 2024 organizational players of the year this week at spring training in Dunedin. CLICK HERE:

Published |Modified
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

Home/NEWS