Four years after his last appearance in the major leagues, baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki proved he’s still a dominant force on the diamond.
In his annual All-Star game at the Tokyo Dome, Ichiro took to the mound against a team of the top high school girls in Japan and delivered a stellar performance.
He threw a 116-pitch complete game shutout, striking out nine batters along the way while leading his team to a 4-0 victory.
50-year-old Ichiro Suzuki pitched a complete-game shutout on 116 pitches against a high school girls team today. He had nine strikeouts, topping out at 86 MPH
He went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double pic.twitter.com/p1Mu1PiOWN
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 21, 2023
This isn’t the first time Ichiro has dominated on the mound in the All-Star Game, as he previously struck out 17 batters on 147 pitches in 2021.
At the plate, the future Hall of Famer went 2-for-5 with a double … (What happened on the other three at-bats?!?)
Known for his cannon arm in right field during his professional career, Ichiro threw just one inning in the majors, allowing two hits and a run for the Marlins against the Phillies in 2015 … He reached a top speed of 88 mph that day.
During his recent All-Star outing, even eight years later, Ichiro hit 86 mph on the radar gun with his fastball … (Can you believe he’s 50 years old already?!?)
Imagine being a girl in high school and getting to tell all of your friends that you struck out Ichiro Suzuki pic.twitter.com/4nQMEarRzf
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) November 21, 2023
Despite his success, Ichiro didn’t escape the game entirely unscathed. In a late-game at-bat, he found himself down 0-2 in the count and was caught looking at a pitch on the outside corner, resulting in a rare strikeout for the usually contact-heavy hitter.
“I had a bad feeling,” Ichiro remarked with a laugh when asked about the strikeout. “I’m a player who rarely strikes out. I think I should be proud of that. In my opinion, it was harder to hit than (Roger) Clemens.”
Ichiro went to Hokkaido's Asahikawa Higashi High School to give its baseball team some pointers. One of his demonstration hits went over a protective net and into a classroom window, 130 meters (426 feet) away. pic.twitter.com/CWUP2EZ08m
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) November 7, 2023
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Should Ichiro make a comeback???
(Just kidding!)