Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – A statue reveal to honor Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki went awry on Friday when a key detail in the bronze tribute broke during a ceremonial unveiling. Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro was among the onlookers as former teammates Ken Griffey Jr and Edgar Martinez yanked off a sheet covering the statue.
Unfortunately, the big reveal of the statue — depicting the Japanese star in his famous batting stance — appeared to have snapped the bat at its handle. “I did not do that,” Griffey was quoted as saying according to the Seattle Times. Ichiro — the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame — laughed at the mishap as Griffey covered his eyes.
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Ichiro meanwhile blamed the incident on New York Yankees pitching legend Mariano Rivera, renowned for breaking hitters’ bats. “I didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” Ichiro said via an interpreter, according to the Times.
Ichiro retired from baseball in 2019 after a near-two-decade Major League Baseball career as an outfielder famed for extraordinary bat control and ball placement. Ichiro was a 10-time MLB All-Star and set an MLB record with 262 hits in a single season. He was the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in 2001, when he led the AL in batting and stolen bases.
He finished his MLB career with 3,089 hits, a .311 batting average with 117 home runs, 780 runs batted in, and 509 stolen bases.
© 2024 AFP
