Baseball star’s statue unveiled – with broken bat

The bat on the statue of former Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki is broken during the unveiling ceremony outside T-Mobile Park in Seattle (Lindsey Wasson/AP)

When a statue of baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki was unveiled at the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park, there was just one problem at the ceremony – a broken bat.

As the curtain was pulled off the statue depicting Suzuki in his famed batting stance, the bat in bronze snapped and flopped down as confetti sprouted up.

Suzuki’s bat snapped near the handle, and the barrel veered off to the right-hand side.

Former Seattle Mariners Edgar Martinez, left, and Ken Griffey Jr, second from left, look on with Ichiro Suzuki, right, at the broken bat of the statue outside T-Mobile Park in Seattle (Lindsey Wasson/AP)

After the ceremony, Suzuki joked that New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera got the best of him.

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

It did not take long for the Mariners to fix the statue; Suzuki’s bat was soon turned upright and reconnected at the handle.

A miniature replica giveaway statue of Ichiro Suzuki is seen before the statue unveiling ceremony (Lindsey Wasson/AP)

Suzuki, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer, became only the third Mariners player to have his number retired by the franchise last year as well, joining Ken Griffey Jr (No 24) and Edgar Martinez (No 11).

Griffey and Martinez joined Suzuki outside T-Mobile Park, and all three pulled a cover off the statue together.

Suzuki made history last summer as the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, and earning a near-unanimous 99.7% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Former Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki departs with his dog Kikyu after the unveiling ceremony for his statue (Lindsey Wasson/AP)

The way a jovial Suzuki saw it, his statue having an imperfection was only fitting.

“In the Hall of Fame, I was short one vote,” Suzuki said.

“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.”