evidence: SEATTLE, Wash. — Years before he would make his entrance into Major League Baseball, Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, then 22, made a trip stateside. Sporting a "Tom and Jerry" sweater and a giant grin, he met with NBA legend Michael Jordan in Chicago and sat in on the Bulls' practice. Jordan’s work ethic that day, Suzuki said, remains unforgettable. [...] Now, more than a quarter century later, Suzuki himself is set to be inducted into the Seattle Mariners' Hall of Fame this coming weekend, the first Asian player in the team’s history to do so. Suzuki — more popularly known as Ichiro — is also widely expected to become the first Asian player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown when he becomes eligible in 2025. [...] Suzuki, 48, will be honored in a series of events this weekend. He retired with the Mariners in 2019 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, leaving the field to a standing ovation, and has nearly three decades of playing experiences to look back on.