Ichiro Suzuki honorary statue unveiled by Mariners, but with broken bat

The Seattle Mariners unveiled a statue to honor Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki outside T-Mobile Park on Friday. Unfortunately, the sculpture was damaged upon being revealed to the public.

The bronze statue, sculpted by Chicago artist Lou Cella, depicts Suzuki in his signature pose while preparing to hit, with his right arm extended while holding his bat and tugging on his sleeve with his left hand.

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Suzuki’s pose was right. However, his bat didn’t survive the unveiling. When the tarp was pulled off the statue — with some difficulty — the bat was bent backward at the handle. What should have been a majestic moment for a Mariners icon instead became more than a bit awkward, as documented on video by several in attendance.

The broken bat was impossible to ignore, despite blue and green confetti being fired into the air. Suzuki himself pointed to the statue in jubilation to acknowledge the honor, but the obvious could not be overlooked.

Fellow Mariners Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. covered his face in disbelief before making a joke to recognize the embarrassing situation.

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“I did not do that,” Griffey said to Suzuki (via Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish).

Demonstrating the humor that made his 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech so memorable, Suzuki joked that New York Yankees closer and fellow Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera must have broken his bat, as he was known for doing to so many batters with his formidable cutter.

“I didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” Suzuki said through a translator.

This story will be updated with more information.