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Yusei Kikuchi is unsure whether Ichiro is real or 'a person in the sky'

On Thursday, the Mariners formally introduced pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to the media after signing the 27-year-old lefty on Monday. In going to Seattle, he joins a team that not only will open the 2019 season playing in Japan, but already employs a legendary Japanese baseball player in Ichiro.
As you can tell, Kikuchi was less bold than Ichiro in his wardrobe selection for Day One on the job:

Unsurprisingly, Kikuchi holds Ichiro in high esteem. When asked about his new teammate at his press conference, Kikuchi described the all-time combined hits leader in mythical terms:

We feel the same way, Yusei.

Maybe Ichiro can even help Kikuchi add a curveball to his repertoire:

Luckily for Kikuchi and all of us, Ichiro is very real.

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