Ichiro Suzuki Had the Most On-Brand Reaction to Receiving Hall of Fame Call

The man is unfazed ... or so it seems.
Ichiro Suzuki.
Ichiro Suzuki. / Seattle Mariners / Twitter / Screenshot
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To no one's surprise, Ichiro Suzuki is a Baseball Hall of Famer. Also to no one's surprise, he had the most on-brand reaction to this legacy-defining development.

On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners released a video of Ichiro receiving the phone call with the news ... and the 10-time All-Star barely batted an eye. Maybe he was in shock, or maybe he was nervous. Maybe he was just feeling confident that he'd get the bid and didn't feel the need to over do it. But whatever the emotion, it all felt very Ichiro, which is the best reaction, anyway.

Plus, it's worth noting that he does appear to visibly relax a bit once the call ends, slumping in his seat a bit and even cracking a smile.

Watch that below:

The one-time American League MVP, single-season hits record-holder and 10-time Golden Glove winner was tapped for the Hall of Fame earlier this month after 19 stunning seasons in the major leagues. He received 99.7% of the vote, meaning he was just shy of a unanimous bid.

We'll get another chance at a very Ichiro reaction at the 2025 induction ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, July 27 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.