Credit: Steph Chambers/Getty; Jack Compton/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A statue of Baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki was recently unveiled with a major error
- A bat held by the bronze version of the athlete was conspicuously broken
- The incident, which Suzuki laughed off, occurred on Friday, April 10, outside T-Mobile Park in Seattle
A new statue of former Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki featured an unexpected detail: a broken bat.
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The statue was unveiled during a ceremony outside T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Friday, April 10.
Video footage of the moment uploaded on social media shows a curtain surrounding the statue being pulled down as an announcer shouted, "Here it is! The statue of one of the greatest players in the history of the game!"
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The curtain then appeared to bend the bat held by the bronze version of Suzuki as confetti rained down on the crowd.
Mariners unveil a statue on the 1st base line of T-Mobile park of Ichiro Suzuki in his famous batting stance. The bat broke upon reveal! @KING5Seattle@KING5Sportspic.twitter.com/2UQZiIaVMO
— Arielle Orsuto (@ArielleOrsuto) April 10, 2026
Suzuki, 52, could be seen laughing immediately following the incident alongside fellow Mariners alums Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martínez. He jokingly said that New York Yankees player and old rival Mariano Rivera was behind the snafu, per ESPN.
From left: Edgar Martínez, Ken Griffey Jr and Ichiro Suzuki laugh after statue unveiling in Seattle on April 10, 2026Credit: Jack Compton/Getty
"I didn't think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” the Japan-born Suzuki said through an interpreter, according to the outlet.
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The Mariners fixed the statue soon after.
Broken statue of Ichiro Suzuki outside T-Mobile Park in Seattle on April 10, 2026Credit: Jack Compton/Getty
The team posted about the incident later that same day, jokingly announcing that they had “updated” Suzuki’s bobblehead to reflect his new statue.
Breaking: We’ve updated tonight’s Ichiro Replica Statue giveaway. pic.twitter.com/EcFfkaAUd6
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 10, 2026
Suzuki was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the summer of 2025. He is the third Mariners player ever to have his number retired by the team, according to ESPN.
While speaking to the press after the unveiling, the athlete lightheartedly said the statue mishap was a sign that he needs to keep striving.
"In the Hall of Fame, I was short one vote," Suzuki said, referring to the fact that he was short a single vote for a unanimous election.
"Today, the bat was broken. 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,” he added, per the Associated Press.
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