Ex-Marlins exec David Samson not happy with Ichiro's joke

Ichiro Suzuki’s Hall of Fame induction speech was well-received by the baseball world, particularly for its humor. For those associated with the Miami Marlins franchise, however, it may have struck a bit of a nerve.

Ichiro joked that he had “never heard of” the Marlins before signing with them in 2015 during his induction speech on Saturday. The joke went viral, in part because the Marlins are frequently the butt of jokes for their low spending and lack of consistent success.

David Samson served as Marlins president from 2002-17, and was in attendance at Cooperstown for Ichiro’s speech. In an appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” he admitted that upon hearing the joke, he “had a little PTSD because the Marlins are the butt of people’s jokes.”

“You hear your name come out, and you’re just so overwhelmed with gratitude that your name comes out. Then you hear the Marlins joke, and I immediately thought, ‘my God, anything other than that,'” Samson said. “You could just tell that people were going to think that was serious, but it wasn’t.”