A vandal stole Ken Griffey Jr.’s bat from his statue outside Safeco Field

At some point in the late afternoon or early evening on Tuesday, while other teams were facing off in postseason games on both coasts, a vandal stole the bat from the Ken Griffey Jr. statue that stands outside of Safeco Field.

From photos at the scene, it appears the bat was either snapped or cut off at the hilt, leaving behind only the part that Griffey is holding in his post-hit pose. That statue was only unveiled in April of this year.

Shortly after the bat was reported stolen, the police posted that the suspect was arrested and the bat recovered, and they were working on the investigation. Chris Daniels of local news network KING5 reported that the suspect was arrested for felony malicious mischief.

According to the Seattle Times, Seattle Police Detective Mark Jamieson said,

“We arrested an adult male. They (officers) took him into custody without incident. They did recover the bat. That’s been returned to Safeco personnel.”

The statue’s sculptor is also reportedly advising the team on how to reattach his bat without it looking broken. So all’s well that ends well, it seems. The only thing left is to figure out why somebody would want the bat so badly.

Maybe some questions just won’t be answered, but thankfully the bat is back home and Ken Griffey Jr. will be whole again soon.