An unveiling of their Ichiro Suzuki statue turned into a bad break for the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
As a navy blue tarp was pulled back to reveal the bronze statue of Seattle’s Hall of Fame right fielder, the bat in the right hand of the Ichiro likeness snapped just above the knuckles and remained only partially intact. Suzuki, standing in front of the statue next to Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and owner John Stanton, buried his head in his hands with a grimace as the statue on the first-base side of T-Mobile Park received attention.
“I did not do that,” Griffey said.
The Mariners had some fun at their own expense, posting a message to social media with a miniature replica of the statue with a bid for comic relief: “Breaking: We’ve updated tonight’s Ichiro Replica Statue giveaway.”
“I didn’t think Mariano (Rivera) would come out here and break the bat,” Ichiro said through his longtime interpreter.
The statue is an homage to Suzuki’s iconic batting stance with his bat positioned and held 90 degrees from the ground with his left hand crossing his chest.
Ichiro was a 10-time All-Star for the Mariners as part of his Hall of Fame career. He had a .321 batting average and 438 steals in 14 seasons (2001-12, 2018-19) with Seattle.
