Ken Griffey Jr.

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Lore & Background

Griffey signed lucrative deals with companies of international prominence like Nike and Nintendo; his popularity reflected well upon MLB and is credited by some with helping restore its image after the 1994 labor dispute. Following his playing career, Griffey joined the Mariners' front office as a special consultant. He was inducted into both the Mariners Hall of Fame and the Reds Hall of Fame. In 2016, Griffey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, receiving 99.32% of the vote, breaking pitcher Tom Seaver's record of 98.84%, a record that had stood for 24 years. Griffey is the son of former MLB player Ken Griffey Sr. and the father of former football player Trey Griffey.

In Their Own Story

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. The 1995 ALDS kicked off a brief rivalry between the Yankees and Mariners. Although the Mariners subsequently lost the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians, The Double and Griffey's run remains one of the most memorable events in Mariners history, capping a season that "saved baseball in Seattle." Seattle's improbable late-season playoff run that year, spurred by Griffey's return from injury, led to the construction of Safeco Field and the future security of a franchise rumored for years to be on the move.

Reader's Guide

Griffey was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, on November 21, 1969. His family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, as his father made his MLB debut on August 25, 1973 for the Cincinnati Reds. Griffey attended Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, where he was the U.S. high school baseball player of the year in 1987. The Seattle Mariners selected Griffey with the first overall selection of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut on April 3, 1989. In his first 11 seasons with Seattle (1989–1999), he racked up 1,752 hits, 398 home runs, 1,152 RBI, and 167 stolen bases. He led the American League in home runs for four seasons (1994, 1997, 1998, and 1999), was voted the A.L. MVP in 1997, and batted .297. Griffey's defense in center field was widely considered the standard of elite fielding during the decade, exemplified by his streak of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1990 to 1999.

Did You Know?

• Griffey is one of only 31 players in baseball history to have appeared in major league games in four different calendar decades.
• In 1990 and 1991, Griffey and his father became the first son and father to play on the same team at the same time.
• At the 1993 MLB Home Run Derby, Griffey hit the warehouse beyond the right-field wall on the fly and is still the only player ever to do so.
• Griffey's 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history.