Seiya Suzuki, Yu Darvish meet up and exchange jerseys in pregame ceremony

Ahead of Wednesday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, Seiya Suzuki and Yu Darvish met and exchanged jerseys.

This offseason, the Chicago Cubs signed former Hiroshima Toyo Carp outfielder Seiya Suzuki to a five-year, $85 million contract. During his initial meeting with the media, Suzuki credited the team’s former pitcher Yu Darvish for his endorsement regarding the Cubs, which convinced him to sign.

Ahead of the Cubs’ game against the San Diego Padres on May 11, Suzuki met up with Darvish, where they exchanged and autographed their jerseys.

Seiya Suzuki and Yu Darvish meet, exchange jerseys ahead of Cubs-Padres game

Here is what Suzuki said regarding what Darvish told him about the Cubs and the city of Chicago.

Darvish spent three seasons of his MLB career with the Cubs (2018-20). Perhaps his most notable season was in 2020, where he finished second in NL Cy Young voting after leading the league wins (eight) and fielding independent pitching (2.23). After that season, Darvish was traded to the Padres.

Suzuki got off to a hot start to his MLB career, hitting four home runs in his first nine games. Through 29 games, Suzuki is slashing .255/.366/.479 while recording four homers, 16 RBI and 24 hits.

The Cubs outfielder was not in the lineup for the May 11 game due to right ankle soreness he suffered in the series opener against the Padres on May 9.

It was an awesome moment that was shared not just by reporters, but the social media accounts of the Cubs, Padres and MLB.