Gulp, reel-reel-reel, flop-flop-flop.
It felt as though you could almost hear those exact sounds as the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and Cubs' Seiya Suzuki once again showed off their close friendship before a game earlier this year.
On Aug. 5 at Wrigley Field, Ohtani made a motion as if reeling in Suzuki, calling him over for a greeting that ended with a warm hug. This performance has become a regular routine for the two.
So when did it all begin? When was the memorable first performance?
The very first fishing performance by the friendly pair took place on June 6, 2023, before the Cubs vs. Angels game at Angel Stadium. At the time, Ohtani was in his sixth Major League season and Suzuki was in his second.
During pregame warmups, Ohtani aimed an imaginary fishing rod toward Suzuki, who was playing catch along the right-field line, and acted like he was reeling in a catch. Suzuki played along, biting the bait, and responded with a big smile.
But there is also a hidden pun behind this routine involving Suzuki’s family name: in Japanese, "Suzuki" is also the name for the Japanese sea bass. Ohtani acted as if he were catching a literal Suzuki.
During the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Ohtani even invited Suzuki to join him on his chartered flight from Arizona to Japan, though Suzuki had to withdraw due to a left oblique injury.
In the 2026 Classic, the two stars, both of whom were born in 1994, competed side by side as members of Samurai Japan. Although they play for different teams in the Majors, Ohtani and Suzuki share a tight bond both on and off the field and goof around every time they reunite.
With Suzuki reaching 20 home runs this year for the fourth time in his career, a total of four Japanese-born players have hit 20-plus home runs in the same season -- Ohtani (26), Munetaka Murakami (26), Kazuma Okamoto (24) and Suzuki (20) -- marking a first in MLB history.