Like most kids from the Seattle area, Matthew Boyd grew up idolizing Ichiro Suzuki while watching him work his magic on the baseball field every day.

Suzuki, a 10-time All-Star with the Mariners and first-ballot Hall of Famer, was one of the driving forces behind Boyd’s love for baseball.

“In 2001, I’m a third grader, 10 years old, and he’s at the pinnacle — the center of the baseball world,” Boyd said, speaking to media at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game media day in Atlanta. “He’s Rookie of the Year, MVP, he leads the Mariners to 116 wins. Over those subsequent years, my love for baseball was growing and that’s the guy I got to watch every night on TV.”

That 10-year-old from Mercer Island, Wash., grew up to be a standout pitcher at Oregon State before making his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2015. In 2018, when Boyd’s Tigers hosted his hometown team, he finally got to meet his hero.

“I introduced myself after I pitched against the Mariners, and he took the time to talk to me,” Boyd said of Suzuki. “I got to just say, ‘Thank you for what you did for the city of Seattle and the game of baseball.'”

Just five days later, the Tigers made the trip to Seattle to play the Mariners. Suzuki left a signed bat in Boyd’s locker, the latter said.

In August of 2022, Boyd became a member of the team he cheered for as a kid when the San Francisco Giants dealt him to Seattle. It meant Boyd and Suzuki, the latter of whom was a member of the Mariners’ staff, were reunited.

“I’m rehabbing (from an elbow strain), and Ichiro caught a few bullpens with me,” Boyd said. “He was really good at it, which isn’t surprising because he’s the best at pretty much everything.”

Now 34 and in his 11th MLB season, Boyd’s first-half numbers have cemented him as an ace and earned him his first-ever All-Star bid. Even before he made it onto one of the league’s biggest stages, Suzuki was in Boyd’s corner.

“I’m grateful for him. It’s kind of cool to be able to call him a friend over the past few years,” Boyd said. “What he did for baseball on a worldwide level is something that’s truly amazing.”