Apparently not everyone knows — or cares — who Tom Brady is.
The Athletic’s Peter Gammons on Wednesday published a lengthy piece about 44-year-old Ichiro Suzuki, who recently transitioned to a front-office role with the Seattle Mariners. Gammons’ story includes tons of information about one of the most fascinating players in Major League Baseball history, but the most entertaining bit pertains to Ichiro’s interaction with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Check out this excerpt:
“One morning in spring training, 2017, he was in the coaches room looking at his cell phone text messages,” Gammons wrote. “Ichiro told the coaches about one message he had just received from a number he didn’t recognize. The guy said he’d gotten Ichiro’s number from Alex Rodriguez, and that he wanted to come meet him and study his stretching system.
” ‘What’s the guy’s name?’ asked one of the coaches.
“Ichiro strolled to the end of the text. ‘Some guy named Tom Brady. Who the (expletive) is Tom Brady?’ ”
Amazing.
Now, it’s unclear whether Ichiro genuinely didn’t know who Brady was, or if he simply was cracking a joke about one of the most famous athletes on planet Earth. Either way, it’s pure gold.
Regardless, it’s noteworthy that Ichiro’s stretching habits piqued the interest of the 40-year-old Brady, who, like Ichiro, has spent the last few years trying to defy father time.
Although Ichiro’s days as a full-time major leaguer appear to be over, the Mariners have indicated there’s a “strong likelihood” the future Hall of Famer will be in the lineup when the team opens the 2019 season in Japan. If that happens, you can bet the Tokyo Dome crowd will lose its collective mind.
