Ichiro's career is Hall of Fame-worthy; his cultural impact is bigger than that

When Steven Kwan was growing up in the Bay Area, he'd spend summers with his Japanese grandmother. And every day, the NHK network would be on the television. And every day, there would be a segment about a Japanese icon. This guy on the screen being talked about was the epitome of cool — professionally, culturally. He wore statement clothes, funky sunglasses and swung a bat with the kind of skill that's rarely been seen on a baseball field. And he went by one name: Ichiro. Talk about making an impression on a baseball-loving kid. To Kwan, Ichiro was the definition of cool. "He obviously was just like a fashion icon. I think of him, I think of the backward hat, the glasses, the Mariners turtleneck. That was just super cool," Kwan said. "He was praised because he was fashionable, cool, swagged out, but also a good baseball player. It wasn't just because he was a baseball player. So as a young baseball player, you're like, 'Oh, wow, I want to be like Ichiro for multiple reasons.' " When Ichiro is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., he'll carry the mantle of being a national treasure as the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Hall. He'll carry the honor of being the third player to have his plaque carry the Mariners logo. With his induction comes the cultural influence of his career on and off the field, which includes the next generation of baseball players who grew up in a time when the legend of Ichiro was already established. For Kwan, it goes back to the days of watching the TV at his grandmother's house. "If he went 0 for 5 or 5 for 5, just like right there I'm watching him perform at the big league level," Kwan said. "And it's just cool seeing someone that looks like you in baseball — lefty outfielder, obviously Asian descent. It was just cool seeing someone that looked like me and he was succeeding really well. He was one name — Ichiro." If there are any players in baseball who are current examples representing how Ichiro's influence has been passed along it would be Kwan, the left fielder for Cleveland, and Arizona right fielder and Seattle's own Corbin Carroll. They're both West Coast guys — Kwan is from The Bay; Carroll is the pride of Lakeside High School (all due respect to Mr. Allen and Mr. Gates). They're both of Asian American decent. They're both All-Star left-handed hitting outfielders. Maybe Carroll swings with a little more power consistently — he already has more than 70 career homers, where Ichiro had 117 in his entire career — and Kwan plays left field instead of right and they both throw left-handed, but those are the most stark differences. To this day, they both idolize Ichiro. "I remember sitting up along the first-base line up in like the top bleachers and watching him hit his pose and us taking a photo of that and then putting it in like a little like stand and that being in my room growing up," Carroll said. Being an influence on the next generation of players is a duty Ichiro has taken into his active retirement. It's partly why he still is around the Mariners seemingly every day the team is home at T-Mobile Park. It's partly why he shags during batting practice with the current players or plays catch with the likes of Julio Rodríguez. "I think the players that have played in the past, they need to tell the younger players about the game. And that's, I think, a responsibility that the players that have played this game have to do that to the younger players," Ichiro said via interpreter Allen Turner. "That's something that I'm not sure if I'll be able to help in that aspect, but that's something that I really would like to do, to be able to share the knowledge that I have, and try to help the younger players understand that. And for all players of the past, I think we all need to do that." Christian Yelich brings a different perspective than Carroll or Kwan. Yelich played three seasons as Ichiro's teammate in Miami. He remembered playing catch with Ichiro the day after he collected his 3,000th hit in the majors, one of those pinch-me kind of moments. "I think he's probably the person that I played with that loves baseball the most," Yelich said. How did that manifest in Yelich's eyes? It was the diligence and discipline that Ichiro carried every day. He didn't need to say much because the example he was setting was evident to the 23-year-old Yelich at that time. "He was just so disciplined in his routine. He did it every single day," Yelich said. "You could just tell the activity that he enjoyed the most was baseball. He just happened to be extremely good at it, too." The first time Carroll met Ichiro came as a surprise. Before the MLB draft following his senior year at Lakeside, Carroll was brought down to T-Mobile Park for a workout. The Mariners drafted George Kirby at pick No. 20 that season as Carroll was already off the board after being selected at No. 16 by the Diamondbacks. But as part of that workout, the Mariners arranged for a special visitor to show up at the ballpark at the same time Carroll was there. "That meant so much to me that the Mariners were willing to do that. It was kind of no strings attached, just like, hey, we think this is really cool that we'd be able to do this for an area guy that you know grew up watching and enjoying his game," Carroll said. There were tidbits from that one meeting that Carroll took forward into the start of his professional career, and he still tries to follow even after winning NL Rookie of the Year and being a two-time All-Star. The biggest was the repetition of following a routine, something Ichiro has remained obsessive about, even in retirement. "I've talked about how he's said that before, but that had a really big impact on me and the way that I tried to operate throughout my minor-league experience and getting up here, just trying to be consistent with what I was doing on a daily basis," Carroll said. "The way that he put it was, 'If you start changing a bunch of things, you won't necessarily know what impacts what?' And so just to be really disciplined, to do the same thing every day if you want to expect consistency." Kwan sat in the visiting dugout of T-Mobile Park last month with his idol in the ballpark that day. But Kwan didn't want to force an introduction or a meeting. "I don't need to meet my heroes. I want to have this sparkling image, and I know it would be a fantastic experience. He's already done so much for me, and I don't want to make it like a fan experience. I know we'll link up at some point. I got a jersey signed by him before and I want to get a picture with him at some point, but just not right now, Kwan said. Kwan and the Guardians were at T-Mobile Park the night Ichiro was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2022. He watched from the dugout with reverence as the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Alvin Davis and Edgar Martinez spoke about someone who looked like him and played like him was honored as one of the greatest to ever wear a Mariners uniform. "Seeing Griffey and all the other Hall of Famers respecting him like I would respect him, almost as like an otherworldly figure, it just showed," Kwan recalled. "He played the game the right way, he treated people the right way. I think if you play the game and you're not a good person, that kind of stuff catches up to you, but you could see everybody here absolutely adores him and it's for a special reason."