Ichiro meets Obama at the MLB All-Star game, forgets his words, but gets an autograph

Ichiro up to bat during the 2009 MLB All-Stars game
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

What would a foreign-born all-star athlete plan to say if he were going to meet the President of the United States? How about just, “What’s up?”  That is what Ichiro Suzuki, arguably Japan’s most beloved baseball player, planned to do when he had the honor of meeting President Obama before the MLB All-Star game on July 14th.

President Obama at the All-Stars game

President Obama attended the 2009 MLB All-Star game and threw the opening pitch of the exhilarating match that ended in a 4-3 victory for the American League.

The President reportedly walked through both the American and National League clubhouses to briefly chat with the athletes. A report on MLB.com says that the President impressed the players with his baseball knowledge.

Ichiro meets President Obama

When the President came up to Ichiro Suzuki, or just Ichiro as the Japanese like to call him, Ichiro told reporters that he had intended to leisurely say “What’s up?” However, once face-to-face with Obama, Ichiro became star-struck and lost his nerve, mumbling out something formal like, “It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” he later admitted.

Despite his nervousness and disappointment from missing his chance to nonchalantly chitchat with the President, Ichiro was able to get Obama's signature on a baseball.

Much to Ichiro’s surprise and undoubted delight, the President apparently also exclaimed that he is a fan of Ichiro. Ichiro Suzuki plays for the Seattle Mariners and has been continuously selected for the MLB All-Star game since 2001.

A short video clip from Fox News about the President at the All-Star game.  Watch Ichiro giddily smile and bounce around while the President signs his baseball (starting at about 0:24)

(Update: 08/25/2009, article content slightly revised)