A player only gets to make his Major League debut once, so when he does, he might as well celebrate in style.
Standing in the home clubhouse at Rate Field after making his MLB debut four days ago, Rikuu Nishida did just that, celebrating his MLB debut by channeling Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Clad in his pinstriped home uniform pants and eye black, Nishida slammed two open beers together and poured them out in the general vicinity of his mouth, with most of the suds washing over his shirtless form to the cheers of his teammates.
By stepping onto the field for the White Sox on May 25, Nishida became the first player from Japan to make his MLB debut after playing NCAA Division I baseball. The Osaka, Japan native came to the U.S. to play JUCO ball at Mount Hood Community College in Oregon before transferring to the University of Oregon for the 2023 season. He immediately made an impact with the Ducks, batting .312/.392/.443 in 63 games, hitting 16 doubles, driving in 37 runs, and stealing 26 bases. It was enough to draw the attention of the White Sox, who drafted Nishida in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and from there, he began his meteoric rise to the big leagues.
Nishida, a slap-hitting outfielder with a strong arm, wears No. 51 as a tribute to Ichiro Suzuki, a player to whom he rebuffs the obvious comparison.
“No,” Nishida said to the media after his debut, a game that saw him record his first hit and make seven putouts in the outfield. “Don’t compare [me to] Ichiro. No, no, no, no. Still, heavy — my No. 51. I want to change my number right now.”
The amount of respect Rikuu Nishida has for Ichiro is so damn cool. ? pic.twitter.com/xTzXGcZghJ
— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) May 27, 2026
After reaching Triple-A Charlotte for the first time in April, Nishida tore up International League pitching, going 43-for-124 in 33 games with 10 RBIs before he was summoned to the South Side.
“You look at him and he’s embraced who he is as a player,” White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller told MLB.com last month while Nishida was still in Charlotte. “Rikuu has a very unique skillset. He’s going to find ways of getting to first base any way possible. You look at his OBP, how often he gets on first base, second base, wherever it may be, and it’s about .400. He understands who he is and how to get there.”
Such a skillset, coupled with the strong outfield arm he showed off in his debut, only makes the comparison to Ichiro only stronger.
Rikuu Nishida had his arm tested early in his debut …
And he threw a perfect strike ? pic.twitter.com/mXLtABXEIJ
— MLB (@MLB) May 25, 2026
Meanwhile, over on the North Side, the Cubs have a rising star in Pedro Ramirez, the Venezuelan utility infielder called up last week to replace Matt Shaw, who went on the 10-day Injured List.
On the farm at Triple-A Iowa, Ramirez hit a career-high nine homers in just 33 games, driving in 40 runs and stealing 19 bases while producing a .942 OPS in his first taste of the top level of the minor leagues.
Signed for just $75,000, Ramirez may turn out to be a bargain find for the Cubs. At the time of his call-up, he was MLB Pipeline’s No. 85 prospect. A versatile infielder who can hit from both sides of the plate, he won a minor league Gold Glove at third base last year, but also has enough speed to play the middle infield positions competently.
The two prospects are a short ride on the CTA’s Red Line from each other, and if both Chicago teams make the playoffs this year for the first time since 2020, Nishida and Ramirez can be expected to make an impact.
Photo: Chicago White Sox’s Rikuu Nishida, of Japan, warms up before a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in Chicago, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
