Ken Griffey, Jr. encyclopedia topics

Youth and early career

Ken Griffey, Jr. shares the same birthday and the same birthplace as Hall of Famer Stan Musial in the town of Donora, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where father Ken Griffey, Sr. played for the Cincinnati Reds, when Junior was five. He attended Archbishop Moeller High School.

In , Griffey was selected with the first overall pick of that year's amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners based on his tremendous potential. One scout said of Griffey, "If you thought Barry Bonds was interesting, wait until you see this kid." In his eleven seasons with Seattle (spanning from 1989 to 1999) Griffey established himself as one of the most prolific and exciting players of the era, racking up 1,752 hits, 398 home runs, 1,152 RBIs and 167 stolen bases. He led the American League in home runs four seasons (1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999), was voted the A.L. MVP in 1997, and maintained a .297 batting average.

Additionally, his defense in center field was widely considered among the elites during the decade. Thanks to his impressive range, Griffey frequently made spectacular diving plays, and he often dazzled fans by making over-the-shoulder basket catches and by robbing opposing hitters of home runs at the wall—leaping up and pulling them back into the field of play. He was featured on the Wheaties cereal box and also had his own signature sneaker line from Nike, Inc.

Griffey was a frequent participant in the All-Star Game during the 1990s. He has led his league multiple times in hitting categories and was awarded Gold Gloves for his defensive excellence from to . Griffey also became one of a very small number to have played on the same team as his father, Ken Griffey, Sr. in 1990 and . At the MLB Home Run Derby in , which was held at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Griffey slugged a ball over the right field wall, hitting the warehouse. Griffey is the first player to have ever hit the warehouse on a fly, and is honored with a plaque. In , he won the American League Most Valuable Player award, hitting .304, with 56 home runs and 147 runs batted in.

One of the most memorable moments of Griffey's career with the Mariners came during the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS) against the New York Yankees. After losing the first two games, the Mariners and Griffey were on the verge of elimination, but came back to win the next two games, setting up a decisive fifth game. In the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 5, with Griffey on first base, teammate Edgar Martínez hit a double. Griffey raced around the bases, slid into home with the winning run, and popped up into the waiting arms of the entire team. Although the Mariners subsequently lost the ALCS to former Mariners manager Mike Hargrove's Indians, that moment remains one of the most memorable in Mariners history, capping a season that "saved baseball in Seattle", as it occurred in the midst of speculation that the franchise would relocate to another city.

As the Mariners were playing to sellout crowds in the Kingdome, the voters of Washington state's King County narrowly defeated a ballot proposal to build a new baseball stadium. Following the success of the team that season and the narrowness of the vote, the then-governor of Washington, Mike Lowry, called a special session of the Washington State Legislature where a new stadium authority was created and a new tax on hotels and rental cars were added to support the baseball stadium. Today this facility is known as Safeco Field and is referred to as "The House That Griffey Built". This game five final play of the ALDS was the inspiration for the title of the video game, Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run for the Super Nintendo.

In 1999, he ranked 93rd on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. This list was compiled during the season, counting only statistics through 1997. It was argued by some that, had the voting been done two or three years later, he would have been ranked several places higher: at age 29 (going on 30), he was easily the youngest player on the list. That same year, Griffey was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. However, when TSN updated their list for a new book in , despite having surpassed 400 and 500 home runs, Griffey remained at Number 93.

While playing with Seattle, Griffey was a 10-time American League Gold Glove winner, the 1992 All-Star Game MVP, 1997 AL MVP, 1998 ESPY co-winner for Male Athlete of the Year, and was named to the All-Century team in 1999.

Departure from Seattle

Griffey used to live in the same neighborhood in Orlando as golfer Payne Stewart. After the death of Payne Stewart in a plane crash on October 25, 1999, Griffey started expressing a desire to live closer to his relatives in his hometown of Cincinnati.

After the 1999 season, Griffey's request was granted and he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Cameron, Brett Wallace, Antonio Pérez, and Jake Meyer. Initially, the future looked extremely bright for him in Cincinnati, where the Reds had just come within one game of a playoff berth. It was the city in which he had grown up, and Griffey was reportedly very pleased to be playing on his father's former team —on the open market, Griffey could have made several million dollars more than the contract offered by the small-market Reds. However, his contract includes backloaded payments which will be paid until 2024.

Ken Griffey Jr. was a fan favorite in Seattle since he was a 19 year old rookie, and was the featured star of the Mariners throughout his tenure. In June , the near-capacity crowd welcomed him back in a Reds' uniform for a three-game series in Seattle. Griffey hit two home runs in the last game of the series. In a TV interview broadcast on the local FSN affiliate following the series finale, Griffey emotionally expressed an interest in returning to the Seattle ballclub in the future should circumstances warrant it.

Tenure in Cincinnati

2000–2004

The season began what has generally been seen by the media as a decline in Griffey's superstar status. Although his statistics during this season were respectable, they were far below his previous level of play: in 145 games, Griffey hit .271 with 40 home runs, but his .942 on-base plus slugging was his lowest mark in five years. Griffey wore his father's #30, not #24 like he did in Seattle. The number 24 was already retired in honor of Tony Perez and it was not brought out of retirement for Griffey. Additionally, from through , Griffey was plagued by a string of injuries, including season-ending injuries in , , and 2004. Worse yet for Griffey, the cumulative effects of the injuries lowered his bat speed, resulting in less power and fewer home runs (he slugged only .426 before succumbing to injury in 2002, his lowest output in seven years). Injuries forced Griffey to miss 260 out of 486 games from 2002 through 2004, diminishing both his skills and his star reputation. Consequently, he is not nearly the ubiquitous presence he once was on cereal boxes, television commercials, and the All-Star Game.

In 2004, Griffey avoided major injury during the first half of the season, and on June 20 became the 20th player to hit 500 career home runs. His 500th home run came on Father's Day in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, with his father in the stands; the homer also tied Ken Jr. with his father in career hits with 2,143. However, the injury bug bit again just before the All-Star break, he suffered a partial hamstring tear, knocking him out of the All-Star Game and putting him on the disabled list yet again.

Griffey finished the 2004 season on the disabled list after suffering a rupture of his right hamstring in San Francisco. The play in question occurred at AT&T Park in a game against the San Francisco Giants. Griffey was starting in right field for the first time in his 16-year Major League career when he raced toward the gap to try to cut off a ball before it got to the wall. He slid as he got to the ball, but in the process hyper extended his right leg, tearing the hamstring completely off the bone. He later came out of the game, complaining of "tightness" in the hamstring exacerbated by chilly conditions in San Francisco. But there was far more to it than anyone realized at the time.

Shortly after this injury, the Reds' team physician, Timothy Kremchek, devised an experimental surgery dubbed "The Junior Operation that would use three titanium screws to reattach Griffey's hamstring. For several weeks, Griffey's right leg was in a sling that kept it at a 90-degree angle, and he was not able to move the leg until late October. After an intense rehabilitation period, he returned for the 2005 season. In April, he hit .244 with one homer (on April 30) and nine RBIs.

2005–2006 seasons

Starting May 1, the 2005 season saw the resurgence of a healthy Griffey. The fluid swing, which depends heavily on excellent lower body strength, returned to its original form, now that Griffey's hamstring and calf problems appear behind him. His 35 home runs were his highest since his first year with the Reds as Griffey slowly moved up the career home run list. He ended the season tied with Mickey Mantle, after having passed Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, and Eddie Murray.

Early in September, he strained a tendon in his left foot (an injury unrelated to his past hamstring and calf problems), and was listed as day-to-day for several weeks. On September 22, with the Reds out of playoff contention, the team decided to bench him for the rest of the season so he could immediately have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and a separate operation to repair scars from his 2004 hamstring operation. Still, his 128 games in 2005 were the most he has played since 2000. Griffey's resurgence was recognized when he was named National League Comeback Player of the Year. He played in the World Baseball Classic for the American team that off-season with his father as a coach. Griffey batted .524, but the USA failed to reach the semifinals.

During the second game of the 2006 regular season, Griffey hit home run #537, surpassing Mickey Mantle for 12th on the all-time list. He returned on May 11 from a knee injury suffered April 12, and hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Washington Nationals. On June 5, Griffey tied Fred McGriff's record by hitting a home run in his 43rd different ballpark, at the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium. On June 19, Griffey hit career home run 548, tying him with Mike Schmidt, and then six days later passed Schmidt with 549. On June 27, he hit his 550th career home run against the Kansas City Royals.

On September 25 2006, Griffey hit his 27th home run of the season against Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Scott Eyre to tie Reggie Jackson for tenth on the all time home run list.

Griffey's injuries continued in the 2006 off-season. While on holiday in the Bahamas with his family, he broke his wrist. He said he was wrestling with his daughter and two younger sons when the oldest jumped in and knocked him off balance; he landed awkwardly on his left hand. Griffey said his hand felt fine and he expected to be ready to go for 2007 spring training.

2007 season

At the beginning of the 2007 Major League Baseball Season, Ryan Freel took over center field for the Reds, and Griffey Jr. was moved to right field. Reds manager Jerry Narron said that "I've got to do everything I can do to put our best club out there. My feeling is that with Ryan Freel out there, it gives us strong defense up the middle.

In April 2007, Griffey was diagnosed with pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining of the cavity surrounding the lungs which can cause painful respiration and other symptoms.

On May 10 2007, Griffey hit his sixth home run of the season and the 569th of his career, tying Rafael Palmeiro for ninth place on the career home runs list. He passed Palmeiro on May 13. Griffey tied Harmon Killebrew for eighth on the all-time list hitting his 573rd career home run on May 22. He then surpassed him on May 25.

On June 22 2007, Griffey made his first return to Seattle after his trade to the Reds. Before the game, the Mariners honored him with a 15-minute presentation which included a highlight reel of his playing career with the Mariners, a presentation of a "The House that Griffey Built" memorial by Mariners hall-of-famers Jay Buhner and Edgar Martínez, and a 4 minute standing ovation from the sold out crowd. A speech was given by Griffey, and many of the fans in attendance made signs professing their gratitude and adoration toward him with quotes such as: "The House that Griffey Built", "Seattle [hearts] Junior", and "Griffey we miss you." Griffey went 1–5 in the game. On June 24, Griffey hit his 583rd and 584th career home runs, tying and passing Mark McGwire for 7th place on the all-time career home run list.

On June 24, 2007, in an interview on FSN Northwest with Angie Mentink, Griffey stated that he would like to end his career as a Seattle Mariner and that he feels that he owes it to the fans of Seattle:

Following the Cincinnati Reds versus Seattle Mariners series of 2007, a fan movement emerged petitioning Mariners' management to bring Griffey back. Over 1,900 signatures were collected on a fan vid-blog/petition.

Griffey received the most votes of any player in the National League for the 2007 All-Star balloting and on the July 10 game, he went on to drive in two runs for the National League.

On July 16 2007, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 587th home run to pass Frank Robinson for 6th place on the all-time home run list. On July 18, 2007, Griffey hit his 2,500th hit, a first inning single off Atlanta Braves starting pitcher John Smoltz.

On September 19 2007, in a game against the Chicago Cubs, Griffey fielded a Derrek Lee single in right field, then suddenly went down in pain. He was on the ground for several minutes, but eventually walked off under his own power. The injury, first thought to be a lower abdominal strain, was later revealed to be a season-ending groin strain. This marked one of many seasons in Cincinnati in which Griffey had to end the year on the disabled list. Griffey ended the 2007 season with 593 career home runs.

On August 22 2007, Griffey was selected as an all-time Gold Glove winner, on a list of nine players are considered the greatest defensive players in the last fifty years. He finished the season with 78 runs, 146 hits, 24 doubles, one triple, 30 home runs, 93 RBIs, and a .277 batting average.

2008 season

On April 4, 2008, Ken Griffey Jr. passed Reggie Jackson for 16th on the all-time list after driving in his 1,702nd RBI. Two days later, in an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Griffey hit his 594th career home run and his first of the 2008 season. The two-run homer pushed him closer to becoming the sixth player in history to reach 600-home runs. On April 9, in the 12–4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, Griffey batted 2 for 4 with 3 runs and an RBI. On April 15, in the 9–5 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Griffey hit his 595th career home run, batting 1 for 4 on the game with the solo hit being the two-run homer. Two days later on April 17, Griffey hit his 596th career home run while batting 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs in a 9–2 victory by the Cincinnati Reds over the Chicago Cubs. In the April 20 matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, Griffey batted 1 for 5 with the walk-off RBI in the bottom of the 10th inning for the 4–3 victory. Griffey's walk-off hit came after Edwin Encarnacion's and Joey Votto's back-to-back home runs. On May 31st, 2008 Griffey hit the 599th home run of his career against the Atlanta Braves, needing only 1 more home run to become only the sixth member of the legendary 600 home run club. He reached the plateau on June 9, 2008, hitting his 600th home run on a 3-1 pitch from Mark Hendrickson of the Florida Marlins in the first inning. Fans of both teams gave him a standing ovation.

On June 30, Griffey hit his fifth career walk-off home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The two-run pinch-hit shot, his 603rd career home run, came in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Reds to the 4-3 victory. On July 4th, Griffey hit career home run #604 as the Reds beat the Washington Nationals, 3-0.

Despite being ranked second in the National League All-Star voting for outfielders for most of the first half of the season, Griffey finished fourth with 2,907,746 ballots and was not selected to his 14th All-Star Game as a reserve, being 87,000 votes away from Kosuke Fukudome in third place. At the All-Star Break, Griffey was batting .239 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs. "I always have a backup plan...If you can't hit a tough lefty, bunt. If you can't hit a tough righty, bunt. If you can't go to the All-Star Game, go to the Bahamas," Griffey said.

Career stats

Yr Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB K AVG OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GIDP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 19 SEA AL 127 455 61 120 23 0 16 61 16 7 44 83 .264 .329 .420 191 1 4 8 2 4 1990 20 SEA AL 155 597 91 179 28 7 22 80 16 11 63 81 .300 .366 .481 287 0 4 12 2 12 1991 21 SEA AL 154 548 76 179 42 1 22 100 18 6 71 82 .327 .399 .527 289 4 9 21 1 10 1992 22 SEA AL 142 565 83 174 39 4 27 103 10 5 44 67 .308 .361 .535 302 0 3 15 5 15 1993 23 SEA AL 156 582 113 180 38 3 45 109 17 9 96 91 .309 .408 .617 359 0 7 25 6 14 1994 24 SEA AL 111 433 94 140 24 4 40 90 11 3 56 73 .323 .402 .674 292 0 2 19 2 9 1995 25 SEA AL 72 260 52 67 7 0 17 42 4 2 52 53 .258 .379 .481 125 0 2 6 0 4 1996 26 SEA AL 140 545 125 165 26 2 49 140 16 1 78 104 .303 .392 .628 342 1 7 13 7 7 1997 27 SEA AL 157 608 125 185 34 3 56 147 15 4 76 121 .304 .382 .646 393 0 12 23 8 12 1998 28 SEA AL 161 633 120 180 33 3 56 146 20 5 76 121 .284 .365 .611 387 0 4 11 7 14 1999 29 SEA AL 160 606 123 173 26 3 48 134 24 7 91 108 .285 .384 .576 349 0 2 17 7 8 2000 30 CIN NL 145 520 100 141 22 3 40 118 6 4 94 117 .271 .387 .556 289 0 8 17 9 7 2001 31 CIN NL 111 364 57 104 20 2 22 65 2 0 44 72 .286 .365 .533 194 1 4 6 4 8 2002 32 CIN NL 70 197 17 52 8 0 08 23 1 2 28 39 .264 .358 .426 84 0 4 6 3 6 2003 33 CIN NL 53 166 34 41 12 1 13 26 1 0 27 44 .247 .370 .566 94 1 1 5 6 3 2004 34 CIN NL 83 300 49 76 18 0 20 60 1 0 44 67 .253 .351 .513 154 0 2 3 2 8 2005 35 CIN NL 128 491 85 148 30 0 35 92 10 1 54 93 .301 .369 .576 283 0 7 3 3 9 2006 36 CIN NL 109 428 62 108 19 0 27 72 0 0 39 78 .252 .316 .486 208 0 3 6 2 13 2007 37 CIN NL 144 528 78 146 24 1 30 93 6 1 85 88 .277 .372 .496 262 0 9 14 1 14 2008 38 CIN NL 78 274 36 65 16 0 12 36 0 1 46 49 .237 .346 .389 104 94 0 3 12 1 6 +--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+

20 Seasons         9100      2623     37     1737     69    1635  .289  .373  .549  139        8  97 242  78 183

              2456      1582      489   605     184   1204                            4978

Stats are as of June 30, 2008.

Griffey in popular culture

As a Mariner, Griffey has starred in four Nintendo videogames: 1994's Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball and 1996's Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Nintendo 64 games Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1998, and Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest in 1999. He has also appeared on the Game Boy in 1997 (a portable version of his 1994 game, with authentic rosters as they were on Opening Day 1997) and 1999's Slugfest, a portable version of the Nintendo 64 game. Nintendo has owned the Seattle Mariners since 1992.

In 1996, Nike promoted a "Ken Griffey Jr. for President" ad campaign, releasing "Griffey in '96" buttons and a TV commercial featuring Penny Hardaway. Of course, Griffey could not take office as he was only 27 at the time; the Constitution requires President to be at least 35. Thus the first election cycle which would be Constitutionally permissible would be the 2008 election.

Griffey also had a memorable guest turn on The Simpsons, in episode 52, during the third season, "Homer at the Bat", along with fellow stars José Canseco, Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Don Mattingly, Roger Clemens, Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, and Mike Scioscia. In the episode, Griffey overdoses on a nerve tonic prescribed to him by Mr Burns, causing him to suffer from gigantism.

Griffey also has had a candy bar name after him called the Ken Griffey Jr. Bar. Unfortunately, he is allergic to chocolate so their manufacture soon ceased.

Griffey was mentioned in an episode of "Scrubs". A paramedic, played by Molly Shannon, said she bought her son Griffey's card, and he carried it with him wherever he went.

Griffey also had an appearance in "Love Hurts", an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, in which he insults Will Smith at a local carnival. In 1994, he was featured in the major motion picture Little Big League, directed by Andrew Scheinman. In the 2001 baseball movie, Summer Catch, Griffey makes a brief cameo appearance at the very end of the movie, showcasing him hitting a home run at the now defunct Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

Griffey has appeared in some games in the Backyard Baseball series.

Griffey is a paintball fan and can often be found playing with his wife and children at paintball facilities around Orlando, Florida, his off-season home. At the 2007 PSP World Cup, Planet Eclipse presented Griffey with his own "Private Label" 2008 Ego paintball marker.

Griffey was the first player to ask Bud Selig to wear the number 42 in celebration of Jackie Robinson Day. After its approval from the league commissioner, Selig encouraged players across the league to do the same in a temporary suspension of the number being retired to honor the great Jackie Robinson on Jackie Robinson day celebrated throughout the major league.

Griffey's 1989 Upper Deck Rookie card, numbered 1, was selected as the first ever* printed MLB baseball card for an official set by Upper Deck.

Promotional cards of Wally Joyner and DeWayne Buice were printed by the company, prior to the release of the official set. The Buice promo card is also numbered 1 on the reverse, but the hologram is rectangular, rather than the diamond shape.

Ken Griffey Jr's 1989 Upper Deck rookie card was mentioned on the Sci-fi television show Eureka in the episode titled Games people play as Sheriff Jack Carters prized baseball card from his former baseball card collection. The sheriff's ex-wife disposed of the collection.

Griffey was featured (and performed) on, Seattle based Rapper, Kid Sensation's 1992 album "The Power of Rhyme" in the song "The Way I Swing" (Track #8).

Philanthropy

In 2008, Griffey released a series of charity wines to support The Ken Griffey, Jr. Family Foundation, a fund that supports several causes, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and several children's hospitals across the United States.

Personal

Griffey and his wife Melissa have three children: George Kenneth III ("Trey"), daughter Taryn Kennedy, and adopted son Tevin Kendall. When Trey was born, Mariners' then-G.M. Woody Woodward sent him a player's contract dated 2012. Griffey switched his uniform number in , from 30 to 3, to honor his three kids.