Facing the Hanshin Tigers and hearing the team’s cheering section was a blast from the recent past for the former Hiroshima Carp star.

This week, Suzuki returned to his hometown of Tokyo, representing the Cubs in his fourth MLB season. “My goal is to stay in this league and play for as long as I can, until my body stops working,” Suzuki said. “Here [in MLB] it’s so hard with age, but also, whenever your performance drops, there’s always that next guy up.”

Seiya Suzuki was too young and not yet into baseball when the Chicago Cubs last played at the Tokyo Dome 25 years ago. But the memory of being in the ballpark in 2004 and watching Japanese great Hideki Matsui slug a home run for the New York Yankees still resonates with the 30-year-old Suzuki.