New York Yankees Deliver ‘Apologies’ to Ichiro Suzuki

The New York Yankees had one final parting shot for Ichiro Suzuki.

The Seattle Mariners legend earned a big honor this week, with the team unveiling a statue in his honor at T-Mobile Park. The ceremony went a bit awry when it was revealed that the statue’s bat was broken, leading Ichiro to jokingly blame the Yankees — and prompting the Bronx Bombers to respond.

Yankees Take Credit for Ichiro Flub

At the ceremony this week, team officials pulled back a sheet to reveal a statue with a snapped bat, a moment that prompted laughter from Mariners legends Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Ichiro took the moment in stride, blaming Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

“I didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” Ichiro joked through a translator.

The Yankees were quick with a response, posting on X to take credit for the broken bat.

“All these years later, and Mo is still breaking bats,” the team wrote. “Our apologies, Ichiro”

Despite the joke, it was actually the Mariners legend who gave Rivera fits during his career. Ichiro had an unusual level of success against the shutdown closer — in 14 plate appearances against Rivera in his career, Ichiro went 5-for-13 with a home run and two RBIs.

Rivera had gone 12 years without blowing a save against the Mariners when Ichiro hit his walkoff home run in 2009. After that game, Ichiro said he just took the lead from teammate Mike Sweeney after his double off Rivera.

“With Mariano, you can’t plan anything,” Suzuki said, via Herald Net. “Sweeney created the opportunity. He set up the at-bat. I went with my emotions.”

Ichiro returned to Seattle to have his number retired by the Mariners, making him just the third player to receive that honor after Griffey and Martinez.

Ichiro Praised Artist’s Rendition

Aside from an unexpected moment with the statue’s bat — which was temporarily fixed to keep the ceremony moving — the unveiling was seen as a big success as the team honored the Hall of Famer. Ichiro shared praise for Chicago artist Lou Cella, who created the sculpture after receiving some input from the Mariners star.

“We went back and forth on a few details of the statue, and I would say something about the statue, and he would just make it almost immediately perfect,” Ichiro said, via the Seattle Times. “I was very surprised at how well (he incorporated) input that I was able to give him, and he would just make it into that art. It was a great experience.”

Ichiro had some other jokes at the ceremony, taking aim at the one MLB writer who prevented him from having a unanimous vote into the Hall of Fame.

“The Hall of Fame, I was short one vote, and then today my bat was broke. So this lets me know that I’m still not there, that I still need to keep going,” Ichiro joked at the ceremony.

With Ichiro falling short, Rivera remains the only MLB player to get a unanimous vote into the Hall of Fame.

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