On Tuesday, we showed you a video of Seattle Mariners ' legend Ichiro Suzuki holding an open pitching practice in Japan.
We weren't sure why Ichiro was doing this.
Now, we know: Suzuki was readying to play against a team of high school girls.
Per Talkin' Baseball on social media:
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 MPHÂ
He went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double
In fairness, we also don't know why Ichiro was doing this. Was this part of a challenge? Was this part of an event that he runs? Did he just want to play and found the first game he could get to? We aren't sure, but the internet ran the full gamut of emotions on this one.
Some people thought it was kind of pathetic and a sign that Ichiro can't let go. Some people thought it was awesome because a 50-year-old throwing 86 mph is pretty darn cool. Others thought Ichiro was creating the memory of a lifetime for these players.
Ichiro's former teammate Mike Cameron weighed in:
Per Discuss Baseball:
The 19-year veteran pitched one game in his career, with the 2015 Marlins, at the age of 41.
One of the best pure hitters in baseball history, Ichiro amassed 3,089 hits in his United States career. He was a lifetime .311 hitter who stole 509 career bases.
Ichiro won a laundry list of awards including Rookie of the Year (2001) and MVP (2001). He was a two-time batting champion, a 10-time Gold Glover, a 10-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger.
He played parts of 14 seasons with the Mariners, three with the Yankees and three with the Marlins. Remarkably durable throughout his career, he never played less than 136 games in a season until age 44.
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