“Lou Piniella was very skeptical,” said Larry Stone, a Seattle Times baseball writer who has covered Ichiro’s career extensively. “That spring training, Ichiro started off not pulling the ball, not driving the ball. And Lou was like, ‘Who is this guy? When is he going to show me something?’”

Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki shares why sitting out much of 2018 with the Seattle Mariners was one of his biggest accomplishments.

And on Thursday night, that's where Julio Rodriguez found himself. The history was made when Rodriguez stole third base in the first inning. It was his 20th steal of the season. Rodriguez has now stolen 20 bases in each of his first four MLB season. The only other player in Seattle franchise history to do that was Ichiro.

Ichiro Suzuki has long cherished baseball history and he has visited Cooperstown in New York. Now it’s his turn to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, his time to make a speech about a brilliant baseball career that took him from Japan to the big leagues and far beyond.