Tom Brady has been one of the most identifiable sports icons in America since Ichiro Suziki began his career in Major League Baseball, but Ichiro didn’t become one of the best to ever play by paying attention to football. That said, he surely must know who Brady is, right?
As of last year, he apparently did not. In a feature that highlighted how meticulous Ichiro has always been about training and conditioning, Peter Gammons of The Athletic shared an entertaining story about Brady supposedly once seeking training advice from Ichiro. When Ichiro received a text from the five-time Super Bowl champion, he said he had no idea who Brady was.
One morning in spring training, 2017, he was in the coaches’ room looking at his cell phone text messages. Ichiro told the coaches about one message he had just received from a number he didn’t recognize. The guy said he’d gotten Ichiro’s number from Alex Rodriguez, and that he wanted to come meet him and study his stretching system.
“What’s the guy’s name?” asked one of the coaches.
Ichiro strolled to the end of the text. “Some guy named Tom Brady. Who the f— is Tom Brady?”
In his baseball-genius world, Ichiro Suzuki wouldn’t know Tom Brady from Al Rando.
That seems extremely difficult to believe, but maybe that is why Ichiro is 44 and only recently retired from playing. He cares about baseball and baseball only, which is why he should be a major asset in his new role with the Seattle Mariners.
