Ichiro Suzuki statue unveiling goes awry as bronze bat snaps during ceremony | Seattle Mariners
Oh, snap.
At Friday’s unveiling of Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki’s statue, there was an unforced error: a broken bat.
As broadcaster Rick Rizzs said: “We’re going to count down from 51!” — a nod to Suzuki’s jersey number, which was retired by the Seattle Mariners — the curtain covering the bronze statue was lowered, and the bat was drawn as well.
A loud pop could be heard as the bronze bat fell and confetti flew out.
“Here it is! The statue of one of the greatest players in the history of the game!” said Rizzs as the curtain was drawn and a celebratory tune played outside of T-Mobile Park.
The statue depicts Suzuki in his batting stance. He appeared to find the accident hilarious and joked through an interpreter that New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera had gotten the better of him again.
“I didn’t think Mariano would come here,” Suzuki said with a smile, “and break the stick.”
It didn’t take long for the sailors to repair the statue; Suzuki’s bat was soon straightened and reconnected at the handle. The statue was sculpted by Chicago-based Lou Cella, who also produced statues of Mariners greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, University of Washington football coach Don James, Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird and former Seattle SuperSonics player and coach Lenny Wilkens.
Suzuki said he wore a jersey from the 2001 season, when he won both AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, for a photo shoot with Cella.
“I can say I was happy I could still wear that uniform, and I could probably say Junior and Edgar probably couldn’t do that,” Suzuki said. “So, I was happy about that.”
Suzuki was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer and last year became the third Mariners player to have his jersey retired by the franchise, joining Griffey (No. 24) and Martinez (No. 11).
Griffey and Martinez joined Suzuki for the ceremony and helped him draw the curtain on the statue.
“To experience this moment with them, I think back to how it all started,” Suzuki said. “And it’s been an incredible experience.”
Suzuki made history as the first player of Japanese descent inducted into the Hall of Fame, receiving a near-unanimous 99.7 percent of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
The way the jovial Suzuki saw it, his statue having an imperfection was entirely appropriate.
“In the Hall of Fame, I was missing a voice,” Suzuki said. “Today the bat was broken. It kind of lets me know that I’m still not there, that I still have to keep going. So, that’s a good example of that.”
