On August 10th 2013, the Mariners officially inducted Ken Griffey Jr. into the Mariners Hall of Fame and now joins Alvin Davis, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Dave Niehaus, Randy Johnson, and Dan Wilson. This was definitely the player everyone was waiting for. I figured it would be fitting to talk about what Griffey meant to me as a kid and how I look at him now.
Griffey was my first favorite player. I remember having multiple posters in my room and countless Griffey t-shirts and jerseys. I remember, being a left-handed hitter myself, trying to imitate his swing, which seemed so perfect, and what I look at now as swagger in the backyard with the radio blaring. What is funny is that I do not remember watching a whole lot of Mariner games when he was a superstar. I vaguely remember going to the Kingdome and seeing him, but I became a much bigger fan of baseball as a sport when I got a little bit older. Of course, everyone talks about his involvement in “The Double” in 1995 and the only thing I can say about that is that I remember my parents absolutely freaking out and jumping up and down while watching the TV, yet I was young enough to not get what was going on. I think that just shows what an impactful player and person he really was. You could be the biggest fan of him, but not really watch the Mariners or baseball in general. He is very similar to Michael Jordan in that regard.
I remember when he eventually got traded that it actually hit me a little bit at the time. In my little boy brain, I just assumed he was going to be a Mariner for life and that was that. Unfortunately, it was not so and he got traded to the Cincinnati Reds where he played for eight a half years. Once he got there, it seemed like age and injuries caught up with him. He had about three good years of over 100 hit seasons, but nothing compared to what he did in Seattle. He seemed like he was also on the disabled list and it was really sad to watch this superstar slowly get bogged down. I eventually moved on. During the 2001 season, I did not even care. Who needed Griffey, when you have Mike Cameron who was just as good defensively out in center field and when you have hitters like Boone and Ichiro?!
When I heard that he was coming back in 2009, it was cool, but I wasn’t blown away by it. I had grown up and gotten used to not having him on the team that it was weird to see him again. Obviously, the reunion did not last long as he retired in the middle of the 2010 season, but I think it was great of him to come back to Seattle for his final seasons. I remember questioning his loyalty when he left. How could you leave now when we are finally getting better?! After all the hard struggles of the late 80s and early to mid 90s, why would leave now? His return was his way of saying thank you and that I did not forget you guys.
As I sit here at 21 and see him get inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame, number one, I feel old, but number two, it feels like we are finally giving Griffey what he deserves. I wouldn’t say he is my favorite player anymore, but he got me into sports in the first place and it is easy to be a fan of this guy. In all the talk of PEDs in the MLB nowadays, Griffey represents the player you want to be in the MLB. Good, respectable, competitive, and PED-free.
Today, I still go back and watch “The Double” and get chills as I see Griffey run around third, but that was just one of many moments that I remember. Thanks for the memories, Junior.