Baseball: Hall of Famer Ichiro 'totally obsessed' with cooking
"I'm totally obsessed with cooking now, rather than just being passionate," the former Seattle Mariners outfielder said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. "I can only make several dishes, but mainly pasta and risotto."
Ichiro, who is widely known by just his first name, says he is the type of person who wants to gain knowledge and experience once he develops a new interest.
The first Asian player to be elected to the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame is scheduled to attend Sunday's induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, along with starting pitcher CC Sabathia and closer Billy Wagner.
Ichiro took up cooking last December when he had a whole month in Seattle, which is unusual for the evergreen 51-year-old.
"When I'm at home, I just wait for my wife to cook for me. But I began to think that wasn't good for me, so I asked one of my friends to teach me how to make pasta. That's how I got started," said Ichiro, who also played for the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.
"No one could've imagined that I would wear an apron and become so into cooking. I had never even held a knife. Of course, my wife still cooks me nutritionally balanced meals, and she also teaches me how to cook."
Cooking has become a part of his daily routine. Ichiro now enjoys the whole process, from preparing the ingredients to washing up after the meal and putting the dishes back on the shelves.
Ichiro has maintained a demanding daily training regimen since his retirement in March 2019.
"I've done more than in my playing days. I'm trying to go a step further, even if my body is at its limit, he said.
"Now I can judge, 'Oh, I'll get hurt if I go this far.' I couldn't do such reckless things like that during my playing career, so that's a big difference."
He had 3,089 hits during his Major Baseball League career between 2001 and 2019 while winning 10 Gold Gloves. He also set the major league record for most hits in a season with 262 in 2004.
"I'm very curious about how an athlete's body changes," Ichiro said. "Today's athletes are kind of overprotected, but they get injured a lot. Why do athletes who are large and appear strong at first glance get injured so often? I hope to motivate Mariners players by practicing together."
Looking at Ichiro's ageless athleticism, people often wonder if he could come out of retirement to play again.
Mariners right-handed pitcher Bryan Woo once said in an interview that he is learning from Ichiro's throwing mechanics.
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The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Ichiro reflects on legendary career in Hall of Fame speech
COOPERSTOWN, New York (Kyodo) -- Ichiro Suzuki, the first Japanese member of the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame, shared his inspiration to play in the majors while thanking his family and teammates in his induction speech Sunday. The former Seattle Mariners outfielder began his speech in Cooperstown, New York, by calling himself a third-time rookie, now as a member of the hall, after being a rookie in Japan in 1992 and a major league rookie in 2001 at age 27. "I realize I'm a rookie again," said Ichiro, who is widely known by just his first name. "Thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your great team. I hope I can hold the values of the Hall of Fame. But please, I am 51 years old now, so easy on the hazing." He went on to talk about the pressure of succeeding as the first Japanese-born position player in the majors and thanked his wife, agents and teammates as well as Hideo Nomo, who paved the way for other Japanese players in Major League Baseball. "I think you can imagine, there was much doubt when I tried to become the first position player from Japan in MLB," Ichiro said. "But it was more than just that. There was criticism and negativity. Someone even said to me, 'Don't embarrass the nation.' The person who supported me the most was my wife, Yumiko." "It would only be natural if she had doubts too. But she never made me feel them. All of her energy was focused on supporting and encouraging me." In 2001, Ichiro won both the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP awards after leading the league with a .350 batting average, 242 hits and 56 stolen bases. He finished with 3,089 hits and retired in March 2019 after 19 seasons.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Ichiro leads latest class into Baseball Hall of Fame with humor and grace
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"In 1992, I was drafted out of high school (in Japan). In 2001, I became a rookie again at 27 when the Seattle Mariners signed me. "I realize I'm a rookie again ... I am 51 years old, so easy on the hazing." Ichiro mixed a sharp sense of humor with a serious tone in discussing what made him a Hall of Famer: preparation, taking responsibility for his game and feeling a sense of duty to give his all for fans. He cared for his own equipment, unwilling to blame an equipment manager if his glove was not perfectly laced or his spikes were not ready to run the bases. His arm was always in shape when he reported to spring training. "If you consistently do the little things, there's no limit to what you can achieve," said Ichiro, who won two American League batting titles and both the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in 2001. Ichiro said he never envisioned playing in the United States until he saw Hideo Nomo pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers on television in Japan. "My eyes suddenly opened to the idea of challenging myself by going somewhere I never imagined," he said to a crowd that included fans from Japan. "I'm grateful to the Seattle Mariners for believing I could become the first position player from Japan." Fans of Sabathia had a much shorter distance to travel, whether from his first MLB home in Cleveland, his brief one in Milwaukee or his final one with the New York Yankees. Sabathia's speech was a love letter to the women in his life, including to his grandmother, who allowed him to take the grapefruits that fell off her tree in the yard and throw them at a chair — his strike zone. To his mother, who used to put on the gear to catch his pitches, took him to Oakland Athletics games at the Oakland Coliseum and talked pitch selection with him when he got to the majors. And to his wife, whom he met as a high school junior and has been with since. And he talked with passion about the places he played. "I was born and raised in Vallejo," the Northern California native said. "But Cleveland is where I grew up." It was in New York that Sabathia burnished his Hall of Fame resume, leading the majors in wins in 2009 and 2010, and he called signing with the Yankees "the best decision we ever made." Ichiro and Sabathia, 45, were elected in their first years of eligibility. Wagner, the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 1999 with the Houston Astros, entered the Hall of Fame on his 10th and final ballot. Wagner, 54, was born a right-hander who learned to throw left-handed after a childhood injury to his right arm. He told his underdog story, from being a small kid from Virginia who went from a "5-foot-nothing, 100-pound nothing to the Hall of Fame." It was perseverance and passion that got him from Division III Ferrum College to Cooperstown, he said. "I refused to give up," said an emotional Wagner. "I refused to listen to the outside critics. Perseverance isn't just a trait. It's a path to greatness." Parker and Allen, both seven-time All-Stars and recipients of MVP awards, were selected for induction by the Classic Era Committee. Parker passed away on June 28 at age 74, six months after learning of his long-awaited entry into the Hall. Allen was 78 at his death in 2020. David Parker II, Parker's son, and Allen's widow, Willa, reflected in their speeches about what baseball meant to their loved ones and what this day would have meant to them. The younger Parker took the crowd through the journey of his father's career, through the six major league cities in which he played. He became a legend in Pittsburgh, where he won two batting titles and his first World Series, learning from cornerstones of the franchise — Roberto Clemente, Al Oliver and Dock Ellis — about being a major leaguer. As he proceeded in his career through his hometown of Cincinnati, through Oakland, Milwaukee, Anaheim and Toronto, Parker transitioned to "Pops," helping to guide the next generation, including fellow Hall of Fame members Barry Larkin, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor. "He cherished his role as a spiritual father to these young men," David Parker II said. As Parker struggled with his health in his final months, he wrote a poem that summed up his thoughts about his career and his induction. His son read it to a crowd filled with fans in "Parker 39" jerseys. The poem hilariously started, "Here I am. 39. About damn time." Allen, famous for swinging a 42-inch (106.6-centimeter) bat, was described by his widow as a heavyweight as a player, a man and a friend in the warm stories she told of him. He was a man of "principle, compassion and determination," Willa Allen said. That determination was evident as a child, when a teacher in his small-town Pennsylvania school asked her pupils what they wanted to be when they grew up. He confidently told the class he wanted to be a Major League Baseball player. That was before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. The other kids laughed. "He didn't laugh. He believed it," Willa Allen said. "Now look at him."
Kyodo News
3 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: July 28, 2025
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