Junior nearly brings down ‘The House’
Ken Griffey Jr. returned to Seattle on Saturday night, and it was like the 1990s all over again in the Emerald City.
Griffey, who played for the Seattle Mariners in 1989-1999 and 2009-2010, was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony at Safeco Field, the downtown ballpark in Seattle that is known locally as “The House That Junior Built.”
The ceremony was supposed to last about 30 minutes, but it went on for nearly an hour. Griffey spoke for about 25 minutes in an unscripted and emotional speech.
Griffey joins late Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus and former teammates Alvin Davis, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson in the Mariners Hall of Fame.
“I am truly honored and humbled to be associated with these people here,” said Griffey, who retired as a player during the2010 season and will be eligible for Cooperstown in 2016.
The current Mariners roster all stood on the railing of the first base dugout for the ceremony and wore their hats backward in a tribute to Griffey. Griffey came out to his walk-up song, Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray” as the sellout crowd of 46,027 cheered loudly for one of the city’s best known sports stars.
“I can honestly say I am thankful to be part of the Seattle Mariners,” Griffey said.
The pregame ceremony capped a two-day celebration of Griffey’scareer. He spent 13 of his 22 seasons in the majors with the Mariners and was the face of the franchise for most of the 1990s.
He was drafted by Seattle in 1987 with the No. 1 overall pick, made his debut at the major-league level two years later and went on to hit 630 home runs, sixth-best all time, make 13 All-Star teams earn an MVP in 1997.
“As a 17-year-old kid getting drafted by Seattle, I had no idea what I was in for,” said Griffey, who was also a part of Mariners playoff teams in 1995 and 1997.
The Mariners have not been to the playoffs since the 2001 season, which was Griffey’s second in Cincinnati after being traded before the 2000 season.
But Griffey said is confident in the current Mariners, who are in rebuilding mode with pitching ace Felix Hernandez and third baseman Kyle Seager.
“Jay, Randy, Edgar, Dan and I, we were just like you guys,” he told the current players. “You can do it, too. We made it happen. And you can do it, too.”
Griffey’s presence didn’t help Saturday night. Seattle was beaten 10-0 by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Woah, yeah!
Arizona Diamondbacks reliever J.J. Putz was not prepared for what was coming from the team’s music booth at Chase Field in Phoenix on Saturday night.
As Putz attempted to deliver a pitch in the ninth inning against New York Mets third baseman Justin Turner, the opening two seconds of Motley Crue’s 1989 hit “Kickstart My Heart” blared from the music booth. Putz spiked the ball out of his right hand in front of the pitcher’s mound.
Putz, who spent eight weeks earlier this season on the disabled list because of elbow trouble, was not injured.
Quote of the day “You know the movie
‘What About Bob?’ Baby steps? Just taking everything a little step at a time and knowing where it’s going.” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema on the Razorbacks’ first scrimmage Saturday
Sports, Pages 14 on 08/12/2013