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* Facebook icon * X icon * Email icon On Thursday, the Mariners formally introduced pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to the media after signing the 27-year-old lefty on Monday. In going to Seattle, he
joins a team that not only will open the 2019 season playing in Japan, but already employs a legendary Japanese baseball player in Ichiro. As you can tell, Kikuchi was less bold than Ichiro
in his wardrobe selection for Day One on the job: > Ichiro arriving at #MarinersST in 2001, and 17 years later. > pic.twitter.com/VNr83oyd6Y > — Seattle Times Sports
(@SeaTimesSports) March 7, 2018 > Yusei Kikuchi has arrived. pic.twitter.com/i5Wqg5IGAy > — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) January 3, 2019 Unsurprisingly, Kikuchi holds Ichiro in high
esteem. When asked about his new teammate at his press conference, Kikuchi described the all-time combined hits leader in mythical terms: > Yusei Kikuchi clearly influenced by
Ichiro's history with Mariners. > > “Mr. Ichiro is a person in the sky, a legend. I don’t know if he > really exists. I want to meet and talk with him first. When I do >
have the opportunity to step on the field with him, it will be a > great moment.” > — Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) January 3, 2019 We feel the same way, Yusei. [embedded content] Maybe
Ichiro can even help Kikuchi add a curveball to his repertoire: Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag. Click here to view original GIF Luckily for Kikuchi and all of us, Ichiro is
very real. TEAMS IN THIS ARTICLE: * Seattle Mariners PLAYERS IN THIS ARTICLE: * Ichiro Suzuki