Ichiro Suzuki may be retired, but his latest appearance on a baseball diamond shows he still has it. Despite the hitting great now working with the Mariners as a special assistant to the chairman, he still makes time to continue to play the baseball. And young players are still influenced by his time in the big leagues.
One high school wrote a note asking Ichiro to make an appearance at their baseball practice. Students from Japan’s Kokugakuin Kugayama High School asked him to be a guest instructor, and, well, they were flattered when Ichiro recently accepted the invitation and showed up.
The note was written in January of 2021 and Ichiro visited the high school on Monday. He said the letter is something he will treasure forever, according to MLB.com.
“The letter oozes with your passion. I have put it in the drawer where I keep important things and I’ll treasure it,” he said.
Upon showing up, the 48-year-old showed off. He began hitting homers and even hit one ball so far that it hit a building across the street from the field.
While there he taught the impressed students some tricks that helped him succeed in MLB. He explained the best way to run the bases or swipe a bag saying, “If you swing your arms back, you can widen your stride by a step. And you can take bigger steps when your shoulder blades start to get involved.”
The 48-year-old is a 10-time MLB All-Star, won 10 MLB Golden Glove Awards and is the MLB record holder for most hits in a season. And those are just three of his numerous accolades.
