Baseball star’s statue unveiled – with broken bat

The unveiling of baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki’s statue had an unforced error – a broken bat.

As broadcaster Rick Rizzs declared “we’re going to count down from 51!” – a nod to the jersey number retired by the Seattle Mariners for their beloved Suzuki – the curtain covering the bronze statue was pulled down, and so too went the bat.

A snapping noise could be heard as the bronze bat flopped down and confetti sprouted up.

“Here it is! The statue of one of the greatest players in the history of the game!” Rizzs declared as the curtain was pulled and a celebratory tune rang out outside T-Mobile Park.

The statue depicts Suzuki in his famed batting stance.

He appeared to find the mishap hilarious, and joked through an interpreter that New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera got the best of him again.

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

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, joining Ken Griffey Jr (No 24) and Edgar Martinez (No 11).

Griffey and Martinez also have statues outside of the park.

They joined Suzuki at the ceremony, and all three pulled the curtain off the statue together.

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

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.”