The Seattle Mariners revealed a commemorative statue to celebrate Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki.
However, the unveiling of Ichiro Suzuki’s statue had an unexpected incident on Friday – a broken bat.
The Broken Bat Snafu
As broadcaster Rick Rizzs declared “we’re going to count down from 51!” – a nod to the jersey number retired by the Seattle Mariners for Suzuki – the curtain was pulled down, and the bat broke.
A snapping noise was heard as the bronze bat fell, as confetti was released.
Rizzs declared, “Here it is! The statue of one of the greatest players in the history of the game!” as the curtain was pulled and music played outside of T-Mobile Park.
The statue depicts Suzuki in his batting stance.
Suzuki joked through an interpreter that Mariano Rivera got the best of him again, finding the mishap funny.
Suzuki said with a smile through the interpreter, “I didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat.”
Mariners’ Humorous Response
Soon after the mishap, the Mariners jokingly posted on X that they had updated their Ichiro statue bobblehead giveaway to reflect the broken bat.
The Mariners posted a picture of the updated bobblehead on X.
Quick Repair and Hall of Fame Recognition
The Mariners quickly fixed the statue. Suzuki’s bat was soon upright and reconnected at the handle.
Suzuki, inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer, became the third Mariners player to have his number retired last year, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez.
Griffey and Martinez joined Suzuki outside T-Mobile Park on Friday, and all three pulled a tarp off the statue together.
Suzuki made history last summer as the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, earning a near-unanimous 99.7% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Suzuki saw the imperfection of his statue as fitting.
Suzuki said, “In the Hall of Fame, I was short one vote. Today, the bat was broke. It kind of lets me know that I’m still not there, that I still need to keep going. So, this is a good example of that.”