Mariners’ Ichiro statue seemingly endures bat malfunction during unveiling

MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer has the video of Ken Griffey Jr, Edgar Martinez, and John Stanton revealing Ichiro’s statue. The Mariners’ legends can’t hold in their laughter as the bat breaks and dangles from the statue. Ichiro was all laughs, however, telling Kramer that maybe an unexpected guest had something to do with it.

“I didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” Ichiro said, referring to legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

The Mariners nearly made the World Series last year and have high expectations coming into this season. Their 4-9 record to start the season is not in line with those expectations. Ichiro’s bat breaking is a symbol of the season so far, but everyone is hoping that it stops before it gets too late.

Ichiro now has the third statue outside of the Mariners ballpark, joining Martinez and Griffey. Those three are also in the Hall of Fame with Seattle caps on. Despite never making a World Series, let alone winning one, Seattle has some iconic players to commemorate outside of T-Mobile Park.

It is a tough look for now, but the Mariners have a chance to fix the statue and fix the season.