Ichiro Suzuki spreads a towel on the carpeted floor in front of his locker, lies on his back and begins doing stretching exercises. From Ichiro’s blind side, Ken Griffey Jr. pounces, gets his hands deep under Ichiro’s armpits and digs in with his fingers.
Ichiro’s laughter is almost childlike – genuine and uncontrolled – and after about five seconds he screams the magic word to make Griffey stop.
Junior stands up, walks back to his locker and sits down. Ichiro lies quietly for a moment, letting his body relax, then goes back to stretching as if nothing had happened.
"I’m in my ninth year in the game here, and there’s a point where you have to protect yourself," Ichiro said. "It’s been hard to open my heart to everyone."
"He’s the one who’s always doing something to me. He knows how to mess with me. It is my greatest honor to play with him."
Griffin, the trainer, said walking through the clubhouse in that final hour before a game, Ichiro and Junior can be a bit unnerving.
"Sometimes they’ll each be at their locker, just staring at one another," he said. They have become more than friends. Their relationship, Junior said, is both unique and simple.