Ken Griffey
An amazingly talented ballplayer, Ken Griffey Jr. was the darling of Mariners fans in the 1990s when the team emerged as a playoff team. He won the 1997 American League Most Valuable Player Award, collected 398 homers before his 30th birthday, and was named Player of the Decade by his peers. In 2000, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds and joined the team his father had starred for 25 years earlier. The only thing that has blocked his path to legendary status has been injury.
| Career Batting Stats |
| G |
AB |
H |
R |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
OBP |
OPS |
OPS+ |
| 2521 |
9316 |
2680 |
1612 |
611 |
1772 |
184 |
.288 |
.547 |
.373 |
.919 |
122.1 |
|
Where does Ken Griffey rank among baseball greats?
Ken Griffey Jr. ranks #3 among the Top 50 all-time at CF. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1997
At age 27, Griffey set career-highs in hits (185), runs (125), RBI (147), and homers (56). He won the AL MVP Award and paced the league in slugging, total bases, and extra-base hits. His efforts brought the M's their second playoff appearance.
Where He Played
Center field
Born
George Kenneth (Jr.) Griffey was born on November 21, 1969, in Donora, PA.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Major League Debut
4 3,
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1989
Steve Finley
Todd Zeile
John Olerud
Sammy Sosa
Omar Vizquel
Ken Griffey Jr.
Juan Gonzalez
Albert Belle
Jim Abbott
Nicknames
Junior,Kid
Uniform Numbers
#24 (1989-1999), #42 (1997), #30 (2000-2005) #3 (2006-)
Similar Players
Duke Snider
Related Players
Ken Griffey Sr., Barry Bonds, Stan Musial, Mike Cameron
Post-Season Appearances
1995 American League Championship Series
1995 American League Divisional Series
1997 American League Divisional Series
Post-Season Notes
Griffey smashed five homers in the 1995 ALDS against the Yankees, with seven RBI and a .391 average. In his other 10 post-season games he has hit .250 with one homer and four RBI.
Awards and Honors
1990 AL Gold Glove
1991 AL Gold Glove
1992 ML AS MVP
1992 AL Gold Glove
1993 AL Gold Glove
1994 AL Gold Glove
1995 AL Gold Glove
1996 AL Gold Glove
1997 AL Gold Glove
1997 AL MVP
1998 AL Gold Glove
1999 AL Gold Glove
Milestones
On July 18, 2007, Griffey singled in the first inning against John Smoltz of the Braves for his 2,500th career hit.
Milestones
- May 21, 1996: 200th HR... Became the 7th-youngest player to reach the 200-homer mark.
- September 19, 2000: 400th HR... First player to hit a pinch-hit homer for his 400th career home run.
- June 20, 2004: 500th HR... Hit his milestone homer off Matt Morris.
Batting Feats
- May 24, 1996: 3 HR...
- April 25, 1997: 3 HR...
Notes
In his first two years in the National League, Griffey destroyed the Rockies. He hit .389 with 12 homers, eight doubles, three triples, and 36 RBI in 27 games against Colorado. He had a .916 slugging mark against the Rocks entering 2002.
Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
On April 10, 2000, Griffey blasted his second homer as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and the 400th of his career. The homer made him the youngest man to reach 400 homers, eclipsing the old mark held by Jimmie Foxx.
Griffey would hit 40 homers and drive in 118 runs in his first season in the Queen City, but it was a disappointment, as he struggled early and had to rally to pull his batting average to .271. At 30 years old, Griffey had suffered the first off-year of his stellar career. The Reds finished a distant second and Griffey's anticipated personal battles with fellow NL Central sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa never materialized.
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In 2001, Junior suffered a hamstring injury during spring training that limited him to a handful of at-bats early in the regular season and shelved him completely until June. He finished with his lowest homer and RBI totals since his injury-plagued season of 1995.
In the off-season he was criticized by former Mariner teammates for setting himself apart from his teammates and refusing to be a leader. His lukewarm response to the criticism and the volume of people who echoed the unflattering sentiments, tarnished Griffey's image.
In 2002, amidst his worst season ever, Griffey suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee and a torn right hamstring. The injuries limited him to 70 games and eight homers. In 2003, early in the season, Griffey dislocated his right shoulder while diving in the outfield, an injury that held him to just 166 at-bats. After four years with the Reds, Griffey had played in only 58% of his team's games, and hit no higher than .286. His pre-30s numbers (398 homers and a .300 average) towered over his 30s numbers (.263 and 83 homers).
In 2004, his fifth season in Cincinnati, Griffey emerged from spring training healthy and played well enough to earn his 12th starting selection to the All-Star team. In early July he collected his 500th career homer. But in mid-July he suffered a tear n his right hamstring and missed a few weeks. Two days after he returned from the injury he completely tore the same hamstring when he attempted to make a sliding catch in the outfield. Less than a week later he had season-ending surgery to fuse the tendon to the bone. He had hit 20 homers and drove in 60 runs in 83 games. Combined, over the course of his injury-marred 2003 and 2004 seasons, Griffey had struggled to a .251 average and 33 homers and 86 RBI in 136 games. He entered 2005 not having hit .300 in eight years.
Transactions
On November 2, 1999, Ken Griffey Jr. asked the Seattle Mariners to trade him so he could be closer to his family in Orlando, Florida, where he made his residence. Almost immediatley, the Atlanta Braves moved to the front of the Griffey chase. But Reds GM Jim Bowden refused to count his team out: "I certainly don't think it's reasonable to think Atlanta's the automatic winner in the Griffey sweepstakes." The Reds were rumored to be dangling a combination including pitchers Danny Graves and Scott Williamson, and Dmitri Young, Sean Casey, and infield prospect Travis Dawkins. The M's demand Casey, Williamson, Pokey Reese, and Denny Neagle - four key Reds players. Casey made it clear that he wanted to stay in Cincinnati and when Seattle signed free agent first baseman John Olerud, it eliminated their need for the Reds first sacker in any deal.
When the winter baseball meetings opened on December 9, Bowden outlined his goal in simple terms: "I'm coming to get Griffey and bring him back to his hometown, where he belongs." But no deal was made during the meetings as the Reds, Mets and other teams shied away from Griffey, calling Seattle's price too high. Suddenly in February, amid rumors and speculation, and while Griffey slammed Seattle and vowed to never return, the Mariners and Reds reached an agreement, albeit a skaky one (at least legally).
On February 10, 2000, the deal was announced: the Reds sent Griffey to Cincinnati for pitchers Brett Tomko and Jake Meyer, center fielder Mike Cameron, and infielder Antonio Perez. The Reds also announced that Griffey had signed a nine-year contract through the 2008 season, valued at $117 million. The Mariners had dealt their superstar before he could bolt the team via free agency, and the Reds had a hometown hero.
All-Star Selections
1990 AL
1991 AL
1992 AL
1993 AL
1994 AL
1995 AL
1996 AL
1997 AL
1998 AL
1999 AL
2000 NL
Replaced
Henry Cotto, who was moved to left field.
Best Strength as a Player
His swing
Largest Weakness as a Player
Durability
Learn More about Ken Griffey
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