Seattle Mariners Legend Ichiro Suzuki Gifts Signed Bat to Prospect Rikuu Nishida
When someone discusses the most influential players in Seattle Mariners history, two names are immediately mentioned: Ichiro Suzuki and Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Jr. was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016 and Suzuki will join his fellow Mariners legend on July 27 as a member of the 2025 class.
Six years after his retirement, Suzuki is still with the team as a "special assistant to the chairman." He's often with the team at T-Mobile Park shagging balls in the outfield, and he's been present during this year's spring training.
Suzuki got to meet one of the many players he's influenced on March 1 when Seattle played the Chicago White Sox at Peoria Sports Complex: Prospect Rikuu Nishida.
“I couldn’t talk,” a smiling Nishida told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “That’s a legend, right? I get nervous. Usually I can talk to everyone but I couldn’t talk to Ichiro. I couldn’t say a word. That was a big moment for me.”
The meeting left an impression on Suzuki, as well. Chicago's official account on "X" shared a video of Suzuki gifting Nishida a signed game-used bat on Thursday. Hall of Famer Jim Thome presented the bat to Nishida.
A Hall of Fame surprise for Rikuu Nishida 😱
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 13, 2025
Thank you to Ichiro & the @Mariners for making this happen! pic.twitter.com/V8KofPVPCn
Nishida was stunned initially after being gifted the bat but jokingly asked "can I use it?"
Nishida talked about receiving the gift in the video.
"It's great. All the coaches, they work (hard) for me, and then they tried to give me some big experience for me, so it was amazing."
Nishida said he would get a case to put the bat in.
Suzuki was an instant success once he came stateside in 2001. He won the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP awards his first season in the league. He set the all-time MLB single-season hit record with 262 knocks in 2004.
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