MIAMI _ Ichiro Suzuki, the iconic baseball figure, has been well-established for years in the United States and Japan.
The chase for 3,000 hits, which culminated Sunday with a triple in the seventh inning in Colorado, has provided a glimpse of a more multi-faceted Ichiro. That includes the playful Ichiro teammates know but that's rarely seen publicly.
That was Ichiro of the Wry on display when he described the pressure he felt during the at-bats preceding historic hit.
"My body felt like Justin Bour's. Just heavy," Ichiro said after the game. "But after that hit, the burden was lifted off."
Ichiro wasn't done needling Bour, the Marlins' hulking first baseman whose body type is the anti-Ichiro.
During a news conference prior to Monday's game at Marlins Park, Ichiro was asked who was the most famous person he had received a congratulatory message from.
"Justin Bour," he said with a deadpan expression.
"He's just continuing to roast me right now, but it's all good fun," said Bour, who is on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. "I think he's just trying to make me feel better after he blasted me for being fat [Sunday]."
Asked about Ichiro, the jokester, Giancarlo Stanton said, "He's as prepared as anyone can be and loose at the same time. Knows when to joke around and knows when to be focused and locked in. We get the benefit of both sides."
Another side was exhibited during Monday's news conference when Ichiro presented the jersey he wore Sunday along with his cleats, batting gloves and elbow guard to Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Idelson noted that Ichiro has already been a frequent visitor and donor to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
"He's been to Cooperstown six times. He's already donated more than 25 artifacts to the Hall of Fame," Idelson said. "There is no current player that I have ever encountered that has as deep an appreciation for baseball history as Ichiro does."
Idelson said that anyone with a ticket stub from a 2016 Marlins game will be admitted free to the Hall of Fame through the end of the year in honor of Ichiro.
The bat that delivered the historic hit wasn't among the items Ichiro turned over Monday. But he said he will not use it again in a game.
"I always kept the 200th-hit bat that I used and one year I kept using it and I broke that bat," he said. "So I've always said that if something special happens, then I would keep the bat in the way it was when I got the hit. So that's what I'm going to do with this one."
Meanwhile, the Topps Company is issuing two commemorative baseball cards in honor of Ichiro's 3,000th hit. One of them is limited to 99 copies or less and includes pieces of a game-used base from Sunday's game at Coors Field.
The cards will be available for only 24 hours at Topps.com.
As for what the future holds for Ichiro, the Marlins' 42-year-old reserve outfielder sidestepped a question about whether he really intends to play until he's 50 and said he has no more milestones he is seeking.
"What I am looking at is playing baseball every day, going out there each at-bat and playing the best that I can that day," he said. "So that's my approach going forward."
