Ichiro said he'd like to pitch to Shohei Ohtani at some point this season

On Wednesday, the Mariners held a news conference to welcome back Ichiro Suzuki , back in Seattle again after signing a one-year deal with the club for 2018.

During the news conference, the 44-year-old Ichiro was asked about his impressions of 23-year-old Shohei Ohtani , now a member of the Angels and somebody Ichiro will face on a regular basis, given that their teams are AL West rivals. See his full quotes in the clip atop this post.

But even more intriguing than that matchup already seems, Ichiro took it a step further -- hinting that he wouldn't mind a chance pitching to Ohtani himself:

At his press conference, Ichiro was his classic self. Said he’s looking forward to hitting against Shohei Ohtani — and is hoping Scott Servais will let him pitch when Ohtani is hitting. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 7, 2018

Ohtani's billed as a flashy, top-tier two-position talent due to his pitching and hitting skills, but let's not forget that Ichiro, too, has pitched before:

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Ohtani thinks he'd be a good challenge:

Ohtani said he thinks Ichiro could pitch well. https://t.co/TAPbkTED0m — Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) March 7, 2018

Ichiro saying something like this didn't totally come out of left field, so to speak. It very well could happen -- and, considering the number of games the Mariners and Angels will play against one another in 2018, you never know ...