COOPERSTOWN — Ichiro Suzuki stole the show with his nearly 20-minute speech, delivered in English.
Long known to those around him for speaking English well, Ichiro always chose to speak publicly in Japanese, using an interpreter.
Now a Hall of Famer, Ichiro chose Sunday to break out a witty speech in front of a crowd of thousands of fans wearing his No. 51 Mariners jersey.
Afterward, speaking in Japanese again following his speech, Ichiro said he “always knew” he would deliver the speech in English, in hopes of letting his American fans understand it as well as possible.
“I played with him, so I knew he could do that,’’ CC Sabathia said of Ichiro’s speaking ability. “It was good for people to get to know his personality and how hard he worked.”
Brian Cashman had a similar story, saying that when he traded for Ichiro in 2012, he and an interpreter spent over an hour on a phone call with Ichiro and his interpreter to explain what his role would be if he agreed to come to the Yankees.
“It took forever,’’ Cashman said.
A week later, Cashman introduced himself to Ichiro in person in The Bronx and was surprised.
“He responded by speaking better English than I did,’’ Cashman said.
Ichiro, in addition to thanking the Mariners and their fans, as well as his Orix team in Japan that let him come to the majors in 2001, also fondly recalled his time with the Yankees from 2012-14.
“I enjoyed my two-and-a-half years in pinstripes and to get to experience the great leadership of Derek Jeter and the organization’s proud touch,” Ichiro said.
Billy Wagner said he’d been preparing his Hall of Fame speech “for about 10 years” while waiting to get inducted.
He finally got his chance Sunday, when the lefty became the first left-handed reliever to be enshrined in the Hall, in part thanks to his three-plus years with the Mets.
And while he’s most remembered for his years in Houston — where his first manager was Terry Collins in 1995 and ’96 — he noted the role his time in Queens played in his path to Cooperstown.
But he also praised the Mets and their former owners, the Wilpons.
“For a small-town guy like me, going to a big city, Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff, and the Mets organization made it easy to come to the field and compete,” Wagner said. “Because I got to ride in [to the ballpark] with Tom Glavine. They always had a great team surrounding me and that helped me reach this stage today.”
Wagner noted that he and Whitey Ford are the only pitchers in the Hall of Fame who are shorter than 6 feet tall. He also noted that he is the only pitcher from a Division III college (Ferrum College) to get to Cooperstown.
“I’m from a very small part of southwest Virginia,’’ Wagner said. “To grow up in a small, rural area, this isn’t something you think about.”
Dave Parker died in June at age 74. He had been preparing a speech for his induction and his son, Dave II, spoke on his behalf. The late Dick Allen’s wife, Willa, also spoke on her husband’s behalf. … Sandy Koufax, the oldest living Hall of Famer at age 89, was in attendance. … The start of the ceremony was delayed by an hour due to inclement weather. There were an estimated 30,000 fans in attendance.
