Ichiro statue breaks during unveiling ahead of Mariners game on Friday

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/seattle-mariners/txYPhSac/"]Seattle Mariners[/a] legend [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suzuki-ichiro/IPPfyyht/"]Ichiro[/a] was among the onlookers as former teammates Ken Griffey Jr and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-edgar/OGAsxTeF/"]Edgar Martinez[/a] yanked off a sheet covering the statue.[/p][p]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.[/p][embed guid="ff4c6492-45f1-4a13-afdd-45d383ec122a" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6axyFkAWw5s" social-type="youtube" /][p][b]"I did not do that,"[/b] Griffey was quoted as saying, according to the Seattle Times.[/p][p]Ichiro - the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame - laughed at the mishap as Griffey covered his eyes.[/p][p]Ichiro, meanwhile, blamed the incident on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-yankees/SrC4LDIT/"]New York Yankees[/a] pitching legend [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rivera-mariano/jHxSsRmQ/"]Mariano Rivera[/a], renowned for breaking hitters' bats.[/p][p][b]"I didn't think Mariano would come out here and break the bat," [/b]Ichiro said via an interpreter, according to the Times.[/p][p]Someone would later go up to the statue and fix it. [/p][embed guid="b7aaecf9-1648-458f-904b-1e5ddc3b8c6d" url="https://x.com/Mariners/status/2042690565746376905?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Ichiro retired from baseball in 2019 after a nearly two-decade Major League Baseball career as an outfielder famed for extraordinary bat control and ball placement.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p]