To say that Dee Gordon idolized Ichiro Suzuki would be an understatement. Gordon, who is entering his second season with the Mariners, has a similar frame. They're both 5-feet-11, they're both around 170 pounds, and neither of them has topped 15 home runs in a season.
Gordon showed just how deep his love for Ichiro runs, taking a page out of The Seattle Times to tell Ichiro how much he's valued playing with him.
"It seemed like everyone else was huge and hit homers, but you stayed true to yourself, your work, your process, and, most importantly, your culture," Gordon wrote. "You showed me that I could do anything and everything I could possibly want to do in this game, even when literally everyone is twice as big as us."
Gordon added that when he was with the Dodgers, he caught himself "paying more attention to watching [Ichiro] hit than actually playing defense!" He promptly apologized to the Dodgers.
Gordon and Ichiro first played together in Miami, when Ichiro signed with the Marlins after Gordon was traded. At the end of the ad, Gordon said "I didn't think a tweet or Instagram post was appropriate for this occasion, so I wanted to do it the right way and tell you how much I appreciate you as loudly as possible."
This ad more than sends that message.