What a guy!
Yusei Kikuchi, a Japanese-born pitcher, has begun an absolute grade-A tradition that involves rare Japanese single malt whisky and his Toronto Blue Jays teammates.
When it comes to drinking alcohol, the Blue Jays starting pitcher isn’t the biggest one to get on the bottle, at least when it comes to baseball season, according to Kikuchi himself while speaking to Toronto commentator Hazel Mae. During Tuesday’s broadcast between the Blue Jays and Yankees, Mae shared Kikuchi’s tradition, and boy oh boy, what a story. (RELATED: Ratings Boom For MLB Signals Possible Resurgence For Baseball)
To make it even better, Kikuchi got the victory as the Jays went on to win the game, 5-4 — that dub was Kikuchi’s first of the season.
So here’s the deal: It’s a drinking ritual. Anytime that Kikuchi takes the mound and gets the win, he busts out a bottle of his favorite (and rare) Japanese whisky. To be exact, the brand of Kikuchi’s whisky is the Yamazaki Tsukuriwake Selection Spanish Oak 2022 edition.
WATCH:
Yusei Kikuchi sharing his Yamazaki whiskey with his teammates when the team wins when he starts. 🥃
Feel free to share with me too. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/BQUsuIyqt8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 16, 2024
Consider me an instant fan of Yusei Kikuchi. I’ve totally gotta get me a jersey because of this story alone.
By the way, how flashy is the branding of that whisky?
That’s what did me in with wanting to try this liquor, though honestly you could put Japanese on anything and it’s gonna look cool … whisky is no different.