Suzuki, 42 tomorrow, has worked as a special assistant with the Angels for the past three seasons. The longtime MLB catcher jumped right into front office work after retiring as a player following the 2022 campaign. Suzuki appeared in parts of 16 big league seasons. He was an All-Star with Minnesota in 2014 and won a World Series as a member of the 2019 Nationals. That included a go-ahead homer off Justin Verlander in Washington's Game 2 victory over the Astros.
There is sincere regret in the words of Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker when he mentions what life in baseball has cost him. His son Troy, now a hitting coach for the Houston Astros, played baseball growing up, and Snitker recalls seeing only three innings of Troy's high school career, due to the natural scheduling conflict for someone working in Major League Baseball.