The Shohei Ohtani mania has taken over the baseball world, but the Los Angeles Angels superstar is not one to forget about the legends who helped pave the way for players like him in the big leagues.
Prior to Monday night's series opener against the Seattle Mariners, Shohei Ohtani met with former Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki, and even gave the Seattle legend a bow in the outfield.
Los Angeles Angels' Shohei #Ohtani takes off his hat and bows to former Seattle Mariners player #Ichiro Suzuki before a baseball game Monday, April 3, 2023, in Seattle. For @AP_Images pic.twitter.com/hkQzsDd30R
— Lindsey Wasson 📸 (@lindseywasson) April 4, 2023
Shohei Ohtani is not just an incredible baseball player but also a great human being, as you can tell based on his actions on and off the field. Showing respect to someone like Ichiro Suzuki is only one of the many examples of why Ohtani is well-liked. In several ways, Shohei Ohtani is like Suzuki. Both are universally embraced and adored not just by people from Japan.
Ohtani is not scheduled to pitch tonight, but he should be there to help the Angels with his bat this time. Shohei Ohtani already had his pitching debut in the 2023 MLB season on Opening Day, when he tossed six scoreless innings and struck out 10 hitters, albeit in a 2-1 road loss to the Oakland Athletics. Ohtani also enters the Mariners game batting .333 with a homer and three RBI so far in the season.
Long before Ohtani came barged into the big leagues, Suzuki was busy leaving MLB fans in awe with his elite ability to make contact with the ball and his defense in the outfield — not to mention his longevity. Suzuki played for 19 years in the majors, 14 of which he spent with the Mariners.
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