Post by JRGNYR on Mar 21, 2019 9:42:49 GMT -5
A 45-year-old Ichiro suited up for the Mariners for the last time today in Tokyo. deadspin.com/ichiro-forever-1833460270.
A brief Ichiro story: My wife and I were married in October 2016 and given the time of year, we opted for a short honeymoon up at our friends' house in the Catskills. One morning with zero plans, I convinced my wife that taking the hour-45 drive to Cooperstown would be a cool idea. I'd never been. She's not much of a sports fan, but she appreciates history and, I think, she saw how excited I was at the prospect of killing a day looking at the artifacts of my first true love. She went along with it.
We get to Cooperstown and into the museum and start poring over the displays. It's not long before I realize there's someone else also walking through the maze of artifacts - and they have a bit of a following. It takes me a minute to figure it out, but I eventually recognize him. It's Ichiro. He was doing his best to mind his own business and just take in everything at the Hall of Fame, but of course he was recognized by us regular folk walking around that day (I suspect only hardcore baseball fans probably go to the Hall of Fame on a random, non-descript Tuesday in October). He didn't appear to sign anything, but he looked plenty happy to take pictures with those who asked. Everybody appeared extremely respectful. I didn't bother him for a photo, but I did leave that day a bigger fan of his. He seemed extremely charming and almost embarrassed at the attention he was receiving. He was a fan just like everybody else there that day. My wife and I headed back to the house and I thought that this wouldn't be the last time we'd see Ichiro in Cooperstown.
A brief Ichiro story: My wife and I were married in October 2016 and given the time of year, we opted for a short honeymoon up at our friends' house in the Catskills. One morning with zero plans, I convinced my wife that taking the hour-45 drive to Cooperstown would be a cool idea. I'd never been. She's not much of a sports fan, but she appreciates history and, I think, she saw how excited I was at the prospect of killing a day looking at the artifacts of my first true love. She went along with it.
We get to Cooperstown and into the museum and start poring over the displays. It's not long before I realize there's someone else also walking through the maze of artifacts - and they have a bit of a following. It takes me a minute to figure it out, but I eventually recognize him. It's Ichiro. He was doing his best to mind his own business and just take in everything at the Hall of Fame, but of course he was recognized by us regular folk walking around that day (I suspect only hardcore baseball fans probably go to the Hall of Fame on a random, non-descript Tuesday in October). He didn't appear to sign anything, but he looked plenty happy to take pictures with those who asked. Everybody appeared extremely respectful. I didn't bother him for a photo, but I did leave that day a bigger fan of his. He seemed extremely charming and almost embarrassed at the attention he was receiving. He was a fan just like everybody else there that day. My wife and I headed back to the house and I thought that this wouldn't be the last time we'd see Ichiro in Cooperstown.