Masahiro Tanaka faced childhood idol Ichiro for the first time
Masahiro Tanaka lived out a childhood dream Monday night. He stepped on a mound in a competitive game and stared down Ichiro Suzuki.
We’re guessing Tanaka’s dream didn’t include the part where he gave up a couple singles, but given Ichiro’s track record that was probably to be expected.
Ichiro, 41, came out on top in his first and second at-bats against Tanaka, 26, hitting a single in the first inning and then again in the third. Tanaka bounced back in the next two encounters though, striking out Ichiro in the fifth and getting him to groundout in the seventh.
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The Marlins won the game 2-1 and Tanaka took the loss having allowed both of Miami’s runs in his seven innings of work. The dagger was a solo homer by Derek Dietrich to lead off the seventh and the Yankees offense was quiet all night, putting up just three hits. While disappointed with the result, Tanaka will always remember going up against a legend he grew up watching.
“Facing Ichiro at this level was, since I was in elementary school, something I thought unimaginable.”
Of course, the two were already familiar with each other. Tanaka and Ichiro were teammates in the Bronx last season as well as with Team Japan at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The circumstances under which they met Monday weren’t quite as cordial, and Ichiro showed Tanaka he can still produce like he did all those years ago.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
