SEATTLE -- The unveiling of Ichiro Suzuki’s statue outside T-Mobile Park featured a slight malfunction on Friday afternoon, but the Mariners’ franchise icon couldn’t help but laugh it off.
The bronze bat attached to the sweet-swinging lefty outfielder was snapped at the handle upon the big reveal, tilting back and towards his head instead of straight up in the sky like his trademark pose at the plate.
It appears that the glitch took place as the tarp was removed, as a closer look shows that the bat was sticking straight up while it was still covered but then was yanked backwards.
And that prompted Ken Griffey Jr. -- who helped remove the tarp, against the statue’s front side -- to good-naturedly joke that it wasn’t his fault. Griffey immediately smiled, sighed and sunk his head into the shoulder of Edgar Martinez, who was also on hand, as Ichiro approached them both for an embrace that included more laughs than anticipated.
“I didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” Ichiro said a few moments later through longtime interpreter Alan Turner.
He then erupted into more chuckles at his own joke as it was translated to English, the nod being to Mariano Rivera, the former Yankees closer and a rival during their playing days.
While the Mariners would’ve certainly preferred things to go off without a hitch, if there was anyone who could make light of a quirky situation, it’s Ichiro. Because for as much as he’s renowned for his Hall of Fame play on the field, his sense of humor -- through a language barrier -- was a big way he connected with players off the field upon his arrival to the Majors a quarter-century ago.
Even the Mariners poked fun at the moment, sharing an altered graphic of the bobblehead giveaway for the first 40,000 fans later on Friday night -- with the bat snapped.
By the time Ichiro’s press conference concluded, the bat had been restored upright and fans were seen taking pictures alongside the statue -- mimicking Ichiro’s iconic pose.
That posture was always going to be the primary aesthetic to the monument, which was designed by renowned sculpture artist Lou Cella. He also orchestrated the statues for Griffey and Martinez that are adjacent to Ichiro’s outside T-Mobile Park.
“I just couldn't believe what an unbelievable job he did,” Ichiro said. “And then I realized that there are artists that are just at a different level, and he's just that type of person.”
Cella’s final product featured significant consultation from Ichiro, with multiple FaceTime calls and at least one in-person visit in Seattle. During that confab, Ichiro wore a jersey from 2001 and went through a photoshoot to allow Cella to capture all the intricate details from the uniform from his AL MVP and Rookie of the Year season.
And, as trademark as his pose at the plate, he couldn’t help but make another joke.
“I was happy that I was still able to fit in that uniform,” Ichiro said. “Because I can probably say that Junior and Edgar probably couldn't do that. So I was happy about that.”
Thanks to a program led by the Mariners’ marketing department, the club hosted Ichiro, his wife, Yumiko Fukushima -- and even his dog, Kikyu, of the akita breed -- along with most of the club’s employees for the unveiling.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson, Ichiro’s former teammate, was also on hand -- as was Julio Rodríguez, his longtime mentee, who brought his handheld camcorder to capture the moment through his own lens. It was the same device that he used throughout the World Baseball Classic.
“To have this moment with them,” Ichiro said, “when I think back at how it all started, it just has been an unbelievable experience.”
The statue sits outside the ballpark on the first-base side, next to those of Griffey and Martinez -- the lone players representing the Mariners in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The ballpark’s only other statue is that of Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus on the outfield concourse.
“There are a lot of people that haven't seen me play,” Ichiro said, “and there are going to be many, many generations that are going to come that will not have the opportunity to do that. But ... when people come and see the statue, they're going to say, 'Hey, who is this guy?' And they'll be able to look me up and look at footage. And that's going to be something that will be forever because of that statue.”