Suzuki delighted the crowd by delivering his nearly five minute speech in English, a language he rarely uses in public. “As I look back on my career, if there is anything that gives me pride, it is that I overcame the daily challenges and had equal passion for each day,” he said, encouraging the current players not to cut any corners in their daily preparation. “That is the greatest gift you can give to your performance and to the fans who come to enjoy this special game.”

Following his retirement in Tokyo, the Mariners, Suzuki’s club from 2001 to 2012 and 2018-19, quickly bestowed on their longtime star the title of special assistant to the chairman. As with other future Hall of Famers who receive nebulous advisory roles from their longtime employers, eager to keep the icons around for marketing and overall cachet, Suzuki had leeway to decide how exactly he would specially assist the team and how often he would do it.

Suzuki, 45, has kept a home in the Seattle area and has taken on an instructor role at home games. It’s not uncommon to see him stretching, playing catch and, of course, giving advice to any player interested in tapping into his wealth of knowledge. But he has especially applied his trademark perfectionism in a surprising area: throwing batting practice.

“Not too many people can say they got to take B.P. off Ichiro. That’s pretty cool,” Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger said. “But just like anything else he does, he approaches it with a lot of pride. I see him in the cage all the time practicing throwing batting practice. Few people practice that, but whatever he does, he wants to be really good at it.”