The Loop
Watching Ichiro Suzuki throw BP at Mariners spring training will restore your faith in baseball
If you don't love Ichiro Suzuki, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW. WE SAID GET OUT! . . . . . . OK, ahem, now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can move on to the important stuff, and by important stuff we obviously mean this video of Ichiro casually tossing BP at Mariners spring training on Wednesday. It's simple. It's innocent. It's not about the Astr*s. What's not to like?
It's essential to remember as you watch Ichiro lob a couple of balls to no one in particular on a sunny winter's day in Arizona, that this is not interesting for the what as much as the who. This is a 3,000-hit guy—a sure-fire Hall of Famer who opened the door for an entirely new continent of baseball talent in America. This is a dude who doesn't even need a last name, and here he his, doing grunt work for the Mariners in February. You un-ironically love to see it.
In addition to serving up a couple matzo balls to help the whippersnappers get their swings (and egos) grooved, Ichiro also flashed what's left of his 46-year-old arm this weekend. Suffice to say, he's still got a few Flamin' Hot Cheetos left in the bag.
Not too shabby for a guy who's been a Mariner longer than some Mariners have been alive.