Ichiro Stories: The eating habits of a Hall of Famer

With the Seattle Mariners retiring the No. 51 in honor of new Baseball Hall of Fame member Ichiro Suzuki before Saturday’s 6:40 p.m. game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Sports’ Shannon Drayer filmed five different stories at various spots in the ballpark from her time covering Ichiro as a Mariners insider. Here’s a look at the third story.

There are some famous eating routines in baseball history, none more so than Wade Boggs’ daily chicken meal that earned him the nickname “Chicken Man.”

A fellow Hall of Famer, Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki, had his own version that was pretty close to that. That would be his usual “Ichi-wings” meal before home games, a creation of chef Jeremy Bryant, as Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports explains.

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The invention came after Ichiro asked Bryant to make him something, but when he was greeted with “an entire Japenese sushi feast,” the right fielder was suddenly feeling something different: wings. And thus began a tradition.

Ichiro was a little different on the road, however. As Drayer continues, he liked to visit casual restaurants that were staples of the cities the Mariners were in. And there is one particular type of American cuisine he was always on the lookout for.

For the full story, which includes what Ichiro was like with his teammates in the clubhouse, watch the video in this post.

Ichiro Suzuki was a man of routine, including eating his signature "Ichi-Wings" before every home game.

Go inside the unique legacy of Ichiro's Hall of Fame #Mariners career ALL WEEK w/ Shannon Drayer leading up to his number retirement ceremony this Saturday night. #IchiroHOF pic.twitter.com/MjHu8K7MTx

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) August 7, 2025

Look for more Ichiro Stories from Shannon Drayer this week here on the site, or click here for the full video of all five installments on the Seattle Sports YouTube channel.

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