Nishida surprised with signed bat from hero Ichiro

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Rikuu Nishida didn¡¯t have a signed bat among his baseball collection until Thursday.

And after being presented with an Ichiro autographed bat during a morning Minor League meeting in the White Sox facilities at Camelback Ranch, it will be nearly impossible for the fleet-footed prospect to top this first one.

Nishida, who led the Minors with 114 runs scored during the 2024 season, had a chance to meet Ichiro for the first time when the White Sox played the Mariners on March 1 in Peoria and he was a big-league callup. The 23-year-old native of Osaka, Japan, could barely say a word upon encountering the Hall of Famer.

On Thursday, it was Hall of Famer Jim Thome who gave the bat to Nishida.

¡°Apparently you left a lasting impression on Ichiro,¡± said a smiling Thome, handing over the bat on behalf of the Mariners and Ichiro.

Ryan Newman, the White Sox field/infield coordinator, was running the early morning meeting when he called Nishida to the front of the room. Nishida later told MLB.com there was fear he was in trouble when Newman called his name.

Instead, Nishida was given something he¡¯ll treasure forever.

¡°I just want to say thank you to him,¡± Nishida said. ¡°Because of Ichiro, I have more easy way because of Ichiro and Shohei being famous Japanese players. So I want to say thank you.¡±

Nishida's excitement during the interview paused for a moment, followed by an important question.

¡°What should I do with this?¡± Nishida said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

Whether he frames the bat or mounts it on his wall, Nishida knows its value. Nishida also would like to get a Thome signature at some point in the future.

¡°I want to get Jim to sign a different bat,¡± Nishida said. ¡°That one is for Ichiro.¡±

¡°It¡¯s game-used, and as you can see, there are a lot of hits right there,¡± said Thome to Nishida in the presentation. ¡°This is going to give you good luck.¡±

Ready to work

The numbers 32 and 33 hold significance to right-hander Davis Martin, who struck out five over three hitless innings against the Asian Breeze on a back field at Camelback Ranch on Thursday morning. Those totals represent the amount of starts Martin would like to make for the White Sox during the 2025 season.

¡°You look at 2022, I was an option guy,¡± Martin said. ¡°Last year, I played the whole second half of the season, didn¡¯t get optioned. I was up for 10 starts.

¡°I¡¯ve kind of got the taste of the big leagues, but I want the whole thing now. I want all 33 starts. All starters talk about it. It¡¯s something we pride ourselves on and something I really want to do.¡±

Martin has looked like an Opening Day starter during his Spring Training mound dominance (five strikeouts and just one hit allowed in four scoreless innings), getting his Cactus League appearance moved to Thursday morning due to rain in the forecast. But the White Sox have yet to name who will take the mound on Game 1 against the Angels on March 27 at Rate Field.

¡°Day to day, honestly. There are a couple factors we¡¯re still sorting through. It will not be long,¡± said manager Will Venable of the team¡¯s Opening Day selection. ¡°I can tell you we do not know yet.¡±

Clevinger in relief

Starting was not an option for Mike Clevinger in his 2025 return to the White Sox. But the veteran right-hander, who was more than amenable to work this season in relief, has not ruled out a return to the rotation some time in the future.

¡°I still don¡¯t think that door is closed by any means,¡± Clevinger said. ¡°With me missing all last year, it might be a blessing in disguise to not have that workload for the first year back after not having that workload last year. It¡¯s good to be able to build up back to that.¡±

Clevinger has fanned three over two scoreless innings in relief, including his one inning Wednesday against the Angels, as he moves into late-inning leverage work.

¡°My body feels great,¡± Clevinger said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to chalk it up straight to relieving yet, I think the surgery definitely fixed a lot of stuff I was dealing with. Right now I feel awesome. I feel fresh every day.¡±

Third to first

Shane Smith struck out eight over four innings following Martin to the mound Thursday against the Breeze.

Steven Wilson has not allowed a run over his last 14 Cactus League innings, with five coming this spring.