Bat stolen from Ken Griffey Jr. statue outside of Safeco Field

SEATTLE — The statue of Ken Griffey Jr., outside the home plate entrance to Safeco field, has been vandalized.

The bat, part of the follow through on Griffey's iconic swing, was missing as of Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the Seattle Mariners told KIRO 7 that the Seattle Police Department has recovered the bat, and has a suspect in custody. The suspect has been booked on accusations of felony property damage.

The teams says they have already contacted the sculptor to work on repairing it.

On April 13, 2017 the Seattle Mariners unveiled the 7-foot-tall statue that sits on top of a 4-foot granite base. It includes a Mariners 20th anniversary patch and a patch recognizing the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball.

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"One of the things I'm known for is my swing and I think it was pretty much going to be a given (that would be the pose)," Griffey said during the unveiling ceremony. "They pretty much nailed it. It was overwhelming to see something like that."

The statue was sculpted by Lou Cella, who also created a statue of former Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus that sits on the right field concourse of the stadium.

PHOTOS: A look back at Ken Griffey Jr.'s career

Griffey became the first Mariners player to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame last year. The Mariners officially retired his No. 24 in August, making him the first player to have his number retired by the franchise.

"When people do things for you, you have to show your appreciation," Griffey said. "Seattle has gone over and above my expectations of an organization. It's been a whirlwind for 18 months — January of last year to even now — it's hard to describe. I just try to sit back and not do anything because I don't want to mess it up."

Griffey played 22 big-league seasons with the Mariners, Reds and White Sox. A 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner in center field, Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth all-time, and drove in 1,836 runs. He also was the American League MVP in 1997, drove in at least 100 runs in eight seasons, and won seven Silver Slugger Awards.

Information from the Associated Press is included in this post.

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