Ichiro Suzuki Praises Mariners' Julio Rodríguez: 'Nothing Bad That I Can Find'

Consider Ichiro Suzuki a fan of young Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodríguez.

"When I'm asked about Julio, there's really nothing bad that I can find, and that kind of makes me mad," he told GQ's Joseph Bien-Kahn with a grin.

Rodríguez said he and Ichiro began bonding during spring training in 2020, when he "didn't have a playing-catch partner and he was the only one there," he told Bien-Kahn.

So the two play long toss when the former MLB superstar is around.

"There's this weird thing in baseball where once you start playing catch with your partner, if you change partners it's like if you cheated on him," Rodríguez said with a smile. "I don't want to cheat on Ichiro!"

The 22-year-old took baseball by storm in his rookie season last year, hitting .284 with 28 homers, 75 RBI, 84 runs, 25 stolen bases and an .853 OPS. He was named an All-Star and won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and a Silver Slugger Award.

His combination of power, speed and defense in center field with a cannon for an arm makes him one of the most complete and exciting young players in baseball. And he's just getting started.

"There are many, many great players here with great talents. But with Julio, you see the aura of the star," Ichiro told GQ. "You can just feel something different and I don't think you can teach that. He has that special aura that stars have."

The Mariners certainly agreed, signing him in August to a contract that could stretch to 18 years and $470 million.

Don't be shocked if Rodríguez earns every last penny. Everybody seems to see special potential in him.

"The skill set, the personality, the aura around Julio?" Mariners manager Scott Servais said when Bien-Kahn asked him who Rodríguez reminded him of. "If I have to throw a name out there, could he be Willie Mays?"