Ken Griffey Jr, Seattle Mariners (photo by jodycl, via Wikimedia).
While we sit and wait for the owners and players to figure out their labor differences before games are lost, I wanted to talk about the greatest Seattle Mariners player ever, Ken Griffey Jr., and his place in history. Where most rank him and how it compares to where I do.
If you were there, you could see from day one that Junior was simply different. From his all-out hustle on defense and home run robbing, wall-crawling catches to his majestic stroke; he was different. Combine that with his electric smile and true love for the game, and he was heads and shoulders above the rest.
Seattle Mariners fans know that Griffey made his MLB debut in 1989 at the ripe old age of 19. Nineteen years old, who does that any more? In legendary fashion, Junior took Dave Stewart deep into left-center for a double in his first MLB at-bat. Then in his first Kingdome at-bat, he hit a home run (go figure).
Griffey had a flair for the dramatic early on in his career. Then in 1993, he took a big jump to the tune of .309, 45 HR, 109 RBI and finished fifth for MVP. in a controversial vote. Junior followed that up in 1994 with .323 40 HR 90 RBI in a strike-shortened season finishing second this time around.
This is where his career took a slight detour in 1995; Junior got hurt while chasing down a gapper into right-center. On May 25, he made the catch but slammed into the hard Kingdome wall and crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain. It was every Mariners fan’s worst nightmare as the up-and-coming star had to miss extended time.
The season looked bleak, and their hopes waned by the day. Then it happened. Griffey returned to the lineup on August 15, and the Seattle Mariners went 28-17 down the stretch to win the American League West by a game over California. Junior and the boys not only saved baseball in Seattle but restored a fanbase for the entire MLB after the strike-shortened previous season.
As we later found out from Jose Canseco, steroids crept into MLB in a huge way. According to him, 85 percent of the league was juicing. Many of the biggest names in the game were named in a congressional hearing, such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Pudge Rodriguez, and others.
But what was the motivating reason why these All-Star players would feel the need to pump up their numbers even more? My theory is it might have been those players trying to “keep up” with Junior. Here was this Kid that hit .300+ with power, speed, defense and rapidly becoming the face of Major League Baseball. At the time, Barry Bonds was the second-best player in the game, and even he felt the need to juice.
Junior had it all; he had his own video game, candy bars, lunch boxes, Wheaties boxes, his own Swingman shoes, etc. His face was everywhere on billboards and tv, with appearances on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Simpsons. He even “ran” for President of the United States in a Nike campaign. Who didn’t want to be Junior in the 1990s?
I believe his overwhelming popularity put pressure on the other stars of the game to figure out ways to keep up with Junior. And for this reason, among others, I think it is a separation maker for him to stand out from the other greats.
There were plenty of players who turned MLB on its ear. For example, Ruth hit more home runs than almost every team in his day and changed the game. When Ruth came to the Majors, he was different, just like Junior was different.
Griffey finished his Hall of Fame career with a slashline of .284/.370/.538/.907 including 524 doubles and 630 home runs (only seven players in MLB history have over 500 doubles and 600 dingers), and 1,836 RBI. The 1997 American League Most Valuable Player was also a 13-time All-Star, won 10 Gold Gloves and 7 Silver Slugger awards. While looking at all Junior did on the field, it’s hard to believe that he could have been even better at the plate.
How much more could he have produced at the plate if only he eased up a little on defense? Griffey couldn’t, as it wasn’t his nature to do that. He loved the game and played every inning with the biggest smile on his face. All the Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers showed how hard he played both sides of the game.
Most will probably put him in their Top Ten, but for me, there can be no other player in the top spot. For me, Ken Griffey Jr. is most definitely the G.O.A.T., plain and simple.
Where do you rank Seattle Mariners superstar Ken Griffey Jr. among MLB’s all-time greats? Let us know in the comments section below.