Alex Rodriguez Confirms Ichiro Suzuki Asked 'Who the F--k Is Tom Brady?' in 2017

2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ichiro Suzuki is one of the most fascinating characters in MLB history, and Alex Rodriguez confirmed a fun story that adds to his lore.

As part of a career retrospective on Suzuki in 2018, The Athletic's Peter Gammons detailed an instance in which the longtime right fielder received a text from an unknown number that said Rodriguez gave out his contact information. When a coach asked the name of the person who sent the text, Suzuki responded, "Some guy named Tom Brady. Who the f--k is Tom Brady?"

After Suzuki was announced as a member of the 2025 Baseball HOF class alongside CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner on Tuesday, Rodriguez finally confirmed that Suzuki's reaction was genuine:

Suzuki will be the first Japanese-born player to receive an induction into the Baseball HOF on July 27 during a ceremony at Cooperstown. His impact on the field was immeasurable, as his 4,367 hits in his professional career across NPB and MLB are the most for any player in modern history. However, those who had the opportunity to spend time with him will likely say his impact off the field was just as enormous.