Ichiro delivers savage Marlins joke during Hall of Fame speech

New York Post

28-07-2025

Ichiro Suzuki was the king of poking singles into the outfield, but he may have hit it out of the park during his Hall of Fame induction speech on Sunday.
Suzuki poked a bit of fun at the Marlins, who signed him to a contract in 2015 and for whom he played three seasons near the end of his storybook career.
'And to the Miami Marlins: I appreciate David Samson and Mike Hill for coming today. Honestly, when you guys called to offer me a contract for 2015, I had never heard of your team,' Ichiro joked to thunderous laughter from the Cooperstown crowd.
4 Ichiro Suzuki played 19 years in Major League Baseball.
AP
Suzuki, who was nearly a unanimous selection, delivered the speech in English after originally coming over from Japan, having not spoken the language much publicly.
Suzuki didn't forget to mention his former Yankee teammates, although they were not on the butt-end of a joke as the Marlins were.
4 Ichiro Suzuki joked that he didn't know the Marlins were a team when he signed.
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4 Ichiro is joined by Billy Wager [left] and C.C. Sabathia [right] on the Hall of Fame induction stage.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
He added when discussing his three seasons with the Yankees from 2012-14 that he recognized that none of his former teammates were there for him.
'I know you guys are really here today for CC, but that's okay. He deserves your love,' Suzuki added.
On the Yankees, Suzuki was no longer the superstar AL MVP candidate that he was with the Mariners, but still put up solid numbers.
4 Ichiro Suzuki speaks in Cooperstown for his Hall of Fame speech.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
He had a .322 average with the Yankees in 2012 after being traded to the squad before the trade deadline in exchange for two minor league pitchers, D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar.
The Yankees won 95 games in 2012 and wound up being swept by the Tigers in the American League Championship Series while Derek Jeter went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Game 1 of the series.
Suzuki played 19 years in MLB; this also doesn't include the nine years he played in Japanese baseball for the Orix BlueWave.