"Ichiro Suzuki made time for me, I am so grateful" - When Shohei Ohtani thanked HOFer for helping him get settled at Angels in rookie MLB season
Shohei Ohtani instantly became a force to be reckoned with during his 2018 rookie season in the MLB. He played in 104 games that season, hitting .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 61 runs batted in.
At the end of the year, he was awarded the American League Rookie of the Year Award. It was a sign of what was to come from the two-way phenom as he quickly became a star in the U.S.
While Ohtani played excellent, there were points during the season where he did not feel like he was performing at his best. This is when Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki stepped in and helped the star settle in, via MLB's Matt Kelly.
"I really was having trouble - not playing as I thought I should and also with my mental attitude. [Ichiro Suzuki] made time for me. From that, I came away in better shape, both in terms of attitude and approach. I am so grateful to him," said Ohtani.
Not only did Ichiro help Ohtani with his approach at the plate, but he also helped the star mentally. Ichiro was one of the most successful Japanese players to ever play in the big leagues. He has seen nearly everything you can in this game, and wanted to help his fellow countryman establish himself in this league.
Ichiro just recently became enshirined in MLB's Hall of fame. He is the first Japanese player to become a HOFer, and Ohtani certainly is not far off from joining him.
Shohei Ohtani revealed frustration after 2018 Tommy John surgery
During his rookie season, Shohei Ohtani would run into some UCL problems. It limited how effective he was on the mound, and it became a true problem toward the end of the season for the Los Angeles Angels.
He would go on to get Tommy John surgery in the offseason, and it was a difficult recovery. Ohtani revealed feeling frustrated after the operation with his limited mobility in his throwing arm.
"For the first month or so, I was frustrated by not being able to use my right hand as much as I would have liked" said Ohtani.
It took a bit for the two-way phenom to get around the fact that he had to limit his right-arm usage. Ohtani did not pitch the 2019 season as he continued to recover, but returned back on the mound for the 2020 season.