COOPERSTOWN, NY. — The day was filled with passionate speeches, inspirational messages, and ended Sunday with a comedy show by the least suspecting Hall of Famer, with most of the audience unaware he even spoke English.
Ichiro Suzuki, the first Japanese Hall of Famer in baseball history, brought down the house with one of the most humorous speeches since the late Bob Uecker.
Suzuki, who has had a full-time interpreter since he arrived in the United States in 2001, delivered his entire speech in English, cracking jokes with a perfect delivery, entertaining the crowd of 30,000 at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He was one of five players inducted in the 76th induction ceremony, joined by CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and the late Dick Allen and Dave Parker.
“People often measure me by my records,’’ Suzuki said. “3,000 hits, 10 Gold Gloves, 10 seasons of 200 hits. Not bad, huh?
But the truth is that without baseball, you would say, 'This guy is such a dumbass.'"
