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 preparing to hit, with his right arm extended while holding his bat and his left hand tugging on his sleeve.

Suzuki’s pose was accurate. 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 about the embarrassing situation.

“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 an interpreter.

The bat was soon restored to its upright position. Perhaps some duct tape will be used to keep it in place. Some reinforcement and proper welding might be employed once the Mariners go on the road after their four-game set with the Astros.

Suzuki was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025 along with CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen and Dave Parker. The first Japanese player to be inducted into Cooperstown, he finished his MLB career with 3,089 hits. (Including the 1,278 hits he recorded while playing in Japan, Suzuki has more hits than anyone ever in professional baseball.)

Famously, the 19-year veteran was not voted in unanimously, as one voter kept Suzuki off their ballot. During his speech at Cooperstown, Suzuki pointed out that his achievements were recognized by “all but one” of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters.

“The offer for that writer to have dinner at my home has now expired,” he said.

Suzuki’s statue stands outside the Mariners’ home ballpark close to the monuments created for fellow Hall of Famers Griffey and Edgar Martinez (also sculpted by Cella).

Before Friday’s home game versus the Houston Astros, the first 40,000 fans to enter the ballpark will receive a miniature replica statue of Suzuki. According to the Mariners, 20 of those replica statues will be signed by the Hall of Famer. Presumably, the bat on those replicas will be upright.

At least the Mariners had a sense of humor about the entire matter, with a social media post addressing the replica statue giveaway.