"Nobody I've ever met that's like Ichiro Suzuki" - Cal Raleigh shares true feelings about Japanese Mariners legend

On Sunday, Ichiro Suzuki made history by becoming the first Asian-born player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as he joined the exclusive club alongside legends of the game such as CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and the late Dick Allen and Dave Parker.

In honor of Ichiro's enshrinement, the MLBPA Instagram page posted on Sunday Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh's thoughts on how unique a player the Japanese star was.

"I'd say [Ichiro Suzuki] was kind of 'one of one'. You know, there's nobody I've ever met that that's like Ichiro. He's one of a kind, just truly unbelievable player, person and just how he went about everything, how he still goes about everything, he's crazy."

"Just a super great guy. Down to earth, always willing to share information to help out others. Just a legend among among baseball players. He's an icon," Cal Raleigh said.

Having made his MLB debut in April of 2001, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went on to establish himself as one of the greats of the game. In 19 seasons at the major league level, Suzuki garnered 10 All-Star selections, an AL MVP award, 10 Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards, among several other honors.

Fourteen of Ichiro's 19 seasons stateside were spent with the Seattle Mariners, and Mariners fans widely regard him as one of the best to ever put on the navy blue.

Cal Raleigh's heroics in 2025 could give him the kind of "Mariners legend" status that Ichiro Suzuki enjoys

Having hit a major league-leading 41 home runs so far this season, Cal Raleigh is well on pace to beat the Seattle Mariners' single-season home run record set by the great Ken Griffey Jr. with 56 homers in 1998.

ESPN projects Raleigh to hit 63 home runs, which would break Aaron Judge's American League record of 62.

Seattle Mariners v Los Angeles Angels - Source: Getty

Speaking of Judge, with the Yankees captain's injury, Raleigh is now the favorite for the AL MVP award. If he does so, he would be the first Mariners player since Ichiro in 2001 to win the award and the third Mariner overall.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Brad Taningco