Ichiro Suzuki was notorious for his athletic preparation on a daily basis, but the legend was not prepared to give advice to one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. In fact, he didn’t even know who Tom Brady was.
Just one day after former New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez posted a complimentary Instagram photo with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Ichiro Suzuki came to the rescue to lighten up the mood.
According to The Athletic’s Peter Gammons, the future Hall of Famer and former New York Yankees outfielder received an unknown text message during Spring Training of 2017. That message was from the five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Ichiro Suzuki reportedly uttered these six amazing words: ‘Who the f–k is Tom Brady?’ https://t.co/BJoHK4QLRQ pic.twitter.com/cmnCCrsFBs
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) May 9, 2018
Yet one of the greatest MLB hitters of all-time had no idea who Brady was. Reportedly, after seeing the text message the (then) 43-year-old comically asked a trainer who the fellow legend was that decided to contact him about his famous stretching routine.
“Some guy named Tom Brady. Who the f— is Tom Brady?”
There are a few things entertaining and fitting about this situation. For starters, it’s priceless that Ichiro, who entered the Majors around the same time that Brady’s heroics for the Patriots began in 2001, didn’t know 17 years later who New England’s star quarterback was.
Then, there’s the fact that A-Rod gave Brady Ichiro’s contact information. This sub-story was released by Gammons a year after the fact, but it’s news one day after Rodriguez was seen posting a buddy-buddy photo with one of New York’s biggest sports rivals, ever.
.@MrBrianKenny reflects on the remarkable career of @Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki. pic.twitter.com/hXcKuwBd5u
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 6, 2018
This would get even better if Ichiro decided not to respond back or reveal his acclaimed stretching routine to the fellow superstar in his early 40s; especially since he is a former New York athlete and icon.
It should be interesting to see if anything more from this surfaces soon, or once the 2018-19 NFL campaign gets underway for the Patriots and Brady.
This also marks back-to-back days that Brady and Rodriguez are linked to the same newsworthy story. This sports enthusiast recently mentioned that the two will continue to be in the headlines together, especially with Brady nearing the end of his storied NFL career.
Luckily for Brady’s sake, the headlines entail no scandals, for now.
