The Seattle Mariners had a malfunction on Friday while unveiling a statue of Ichiro Suzuki. The team broke the statue while pulling off the sheet.
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The moment occurred after a countdown outside of T-Mobile Park. They pulled the sheet off the statue as confetti blasted into the air. People then noticed the bat on the statue wiggling around while bending at an unnatural angle.
The proper angle, as the replica statue image shows, is vertical. The bat is supposed to point up into the air while Ichiro holds it away from his body. This recreates his iconic pose.
We have a malfunction pic.twitter.com/4Ga4vvaIu5
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) April 10, 2026
The broken statue did not appear to upset Ichiro. Photographers captured him laughing while fellow Mariners icon Ken Griffey Jr. grabbed his shoulders from behind.
This bronze statue is the creation of Chicago-based sculptor Lou Cella, who also made multiple other statues for the T-Mobile Park exterior. This includes those representing Griffey, Edgar Martinez and Dave Niehaus.
The Mariners actually embraced the awkwardness of the situation. The team posted a photo on X and joked that they had "updated" the replica statues for the stadium giveaway. The "updated" version of the replica also had a broken bat.
Breaking: We’ve updated tonight’s Ichiro Replica Statue giveaway. pic.twitter.com/EcFfkaAUd6
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 10, 2026
Broken statue aside, Ichiro is one of the faces of the Mariners. The Japan native made a major impact on the team during his time in the Pacific Northwest.
Ichiro, now a Hall of Famer, spent the first 12 years of his 19-year career with the Mariners. He returned at the end of his career for two more seasons, taking him to 14 total in the Pacific Northwest.
He earned 10 All-Star nods during his time in Seattle, and he won 10 Gold Glove awards. He also won Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season (2001).
The Hall of Famer won three Silver Slugger awards during his time with the Mariners, and he led the league in multiple categories. This includes 56 stolen bases during his rookie season. He also led the league in hits in 2001, 2004, and 2006-2010.
