"You're bringing the Sake" - Ken Griffey Jr. teases Ichiro Suzuki with rookie duties after Hall of Fame induction

Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki is headed to the Hall of Fame after receiving 99.7 percent of votes from eligible Baseball Writers’ Association of America members.

To congratulate Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr., on the MLB Network, teased his former Mariners teammate. He asked Suzuki to bring "sake" as a gift, as he was a rookie in the Hall of Fame class to Griffey, who was inducted to Cooperstown in 2016.

"I am happy. I can't tell you; my wife was running around when she found out that you got the call. It is an honor. I can't wait to see you," Griffey said.

"Just one thing — you’re bringing the sake because that's what the rookies have to do. You’re now a rookie for the first time in 25 years. So, I expect a nice bottle of sake for both of us."

"Sake" typically refers to nihonshu, a traditional Japanese wine made by fermenting rice.

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Ichiro Suzuki fell just shy of unanimous selection to HOF

There are 278 players in the Hall of Fame class, but there's only one who was elected unanimously, former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

Over the years, several players have come close to joining Rivera as unanimous honoree but fallen short. With 99.7% votes, Suzuki joins Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. to get close to unanimous selection.

Born on Oct. 22, 1973, in Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi, Japan, Ichiro Suzuki debuted professionally with the Orix BlueWave in 1992. Over nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, he batted .353 batting average, collected 1,278 hits and won seven consecutive batting titles, Pacific League MVP awards (1994-1996) and Golden Gloves.

Suzuki arrived in the majors in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners, becoming the first Japanese position player to play full-time in MLB. His rookie season was legendary, earning both the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year awards—a feat achieved by only two players.

Over his 19-year MLB career, Ichiro Suzuki amassed 3,089 hits with a .311 batting average, winning 10 consecutive Gold Gloves and earning 10 All-Star selections. He set the MLB single-season hits record in 2004 with 262 — whch still stands.