Ken Griffey Jr. Documentary Baseball

i remember how my dad taped his bats so i did it just like him so i would start off here and i would mark it with my hands i would level it out go back up crisscrossing and then i would finish it off with about five or six wraps at the top smooth everything out and see how that is george kenneth griffey jr ken junior the kid holy cow the kid is done a five-tool center fielder whose sweet swing and winning smile helped define a new age for baseball's popularity destiny can be a tempting idea to believe in nowhere more so than in sports where you might see things so beautiful so effortless so perfect that you could swear that they were meant to be stories that sound like they came out of a book figures who carry themselves with the conviction that they were born to dazzle you for me playing baseball was what i wanted to do i wanted to be able to leave a a mark on the ball somehow some way eventually everyone realizes that destiny isn't a real thing that perfection doesn't last forever and that the stories don't always go the way you would have written them but looking back when you recognize that a star like him wasn't simply meant to be you understand better just how improbable he was and you really get how lucky we all were to watch it [Music] this is the story of the baddest man in the land you see him walk to the plate look out this guy was special from the day arrived he was such a natural talent wait look the way you run the way you swing it's like he makes the game of baseball cool watch this perfect timing i didn't do it because of the money i didn't do it for the fame i did it because i loved baseball [Music] you'll find the griffey family's roots here southwestern pennsylvania proudly blue-collar country i was born in a a steel mill town where people didn't throw money away you know did i understand it at the time no i just thought it was normal did my parents complain about these things no growing up in dinorah we didn't have the easy life i mean we struggled but we always stayed together everything was about family my dad didn't have a whole lot growing up so i didn't have the best things that money could buy because my dad was like you have to earn those things ken griffey senior was a ball player whose journey to the big leagues epitomized hard work and self-belief i spent four four and a half almost five years under my legs you know a lot of people didn't believe that i could play baseball from my hometown when i got that first major league contract they believed in me then one ball and no strikes on griffey underwood with a slow come down to the bounty throws griffey swing slow chopper right side here comes concepcion and the 1976 belongs to the rest [Applause] griffey won two world series titles as part of the iconic big red machine in the mid-1970s he was a three-time all-star in cincinnati and a role model for his oldest son growing up watching me play all the time he told me he wanted to be a major league baseball player like every other kid you know you always want to follow in your father's footsteps so ken griffey jr grew up around one of the best baseball teams of all time coming to the yard whenever he could soaking up every chance to get in on the action used to shag baseballs for the reds we were only 12 13 years old you know you say someone's good but this kid was a little bit different than most what gave you the first clue that he had a chance to be as as good as he's become have you still potentially well you know the first clue was the idea that uh all the talk you know because i hadn't seen him over the last five five years in terms of i was in new york and i just never got a chance to see that much of it senior would spend much of the second half of his career outside of cincinnati which only heightened the tough parts of having a ball player for dad pops being an athlete leaving coming home you really come from a single parent household because your dad's going off playing ball making a living and your mom's home every night making sure we're okay you know as a kid you resent that because you know i'm the one kid in you know literally baseball that doesn't see his dad you know every dad's there on saturday my dad's not there he's working still if there were adjustments to make for life as ken griffey jr there was no denying he had a gift for the game a gift that looked even greater than his dad's a gift that sparkled on the field at cincinnati's moeller high well of course i had heard of and watched for years ken griffey senior and then i heard about his son who was a phenom that was 13 14 years old and hitting these long long home runs [Music] i can remember junior as a young kid watching him play a few times but once he really got into those high school years that's when head started turning i knew that there was a really high interest in kenny it started with some area scouts and then there were more scouts there than they were fans i mean they would take tape measures out past the fence they're out measuring up to 350 400 because that's basically how far he was hitting it toward the end there became less and less scouts even to the point where there were only two or three in the stands because everybody knew that junior was not going to last past the second or third pick the best decision this organization ever made was in the june draft of 1987. okay we're ready to go then with the first round the first selection goes to seattle the ball club was struggling in the northwest to put together a winning team but they really needed somebody to rally around they really needed a superstar after betting close to 500 in high school ken griffey jr has taken a few steps on his own a major league scouting report says the kid is faster and more powerful than his dad i want to go number one that was a big deal to me not everybody can say that they're the first pick in the country seattle's selection is george kenneth griffey center fielder from mueller high school in ohio how do you feel i feel fine he feels fine there are now two ken griffey's in professional baseball the seattle mariner is using the number one pick in the nation on a 17 year old center fielder with the genes of a major leaguer it's going to take a few years and we're not going to rush him and but we hope that in four or five years he'll be a star player for us well he got drafted number one by the seattle mariners and the first question he asked me was where is seattle i remember the first time i saw him it was in seattle and he'd just been drafted as a number one draft pick so the number ones always come and take batting price for the major league team he hops in the cage and starts swinging the bat and he's hitting balls in the upper deck i remember going whoo things are going to change around here starting with his first day in a uniform in 1987 ken griffey jr tore up the minor leagues over his first two seasons in professional baseball do you feel pressured because you were the number one thing no just go out and have fun and play as hard as i can every day he played really well uh that season and then after that the mariners called they said hey look we want to invite junior to big league camp but we don't want you to get the wrong idea this is not for the purpose of him making the team we just want to see how he can play against the veteran players nice junior comes to spring training with a big club and he makes the club out of spring training it's about 360 370. he has a great spring all of a sudden junior at 19 was going to open the season as the mariner's starting center fielder in 1989. he opened up the year in oakland and here he is walking up to home plate for the very first time well here's a young fella who's the story of spring training in the mariners camp driving a left center field and he really hit it ken griffey jr has an extra base in on his first advan in the major leagues well it doesn't take him long to show the big league guys that he can swing the bat here too junior started off on the road and now they're in the kingdom the home opener the place was all excited to see this 19 year old kid who was this kid there's so many challenges being a young phenom and everybody is now saying you're the savior because i know personally how difficult it is to be a teenager to be a phenom and then to be drafted number one to a franchise and they're saying listen you're our last hope 20 25 years from now you're gonna want to say i was there when ken griffey jr made his home debut he just looks so great i mean i i was thinking you know i'm getting to watch history from the start anybody is a baseball fan they dream of seeing that all the time [Music] in the deep left center field griffey going back to the one track leaps eye of the air and he's got it an incredible catch by the kid i mean here's a kid that's full of energy constantly smiling from ear to ear and then you're watching him you know jump up over the wall and rob a home run and guys fed off that 50 is the spark of seattle he has power he has speed and with success so comes the attention this was the scene for an autographed session in seattle thousands of fans lines stretched forever all for a peek and a signature of the latest and greatest newcomer my first introduction to griffey was probably the upper deck rookie baseball card he had the dukey rope chain the old school mariners hat and the smile and uh you knew it was about to be something special he walks among baseball's best he is the newest of the new kids on the block ken griffey jr the babyface boy with her grown-up swing is now an all-star and he's still so young he was just 20 in his second season when he followed in his dad's footsteps as an all-star and just a few weeks after that in august of 1990 the griffies would be reunited when the mariners signed senior to a late season deal creating the first father and son teammates in major league history it's um it's with great pleasure and pride that the seattle mariners announce officially the signing of ken griffey senior to this organization ken you know it all happened because he made it happen i didn't think he was going to get to the big leagues like he did so i guess it's a dream come true true being a father okay he's just a little little taller than him that's all hold up do you realize how amazing the grippies are a father and son play major league baseball together one is 40 and the other 20. they beat the odd it was really a great story on both ends for junior to get to the big league so quickly at the age of 19 the previous year in 1989 now in 1990 at the end of that year to play with his father and for his father to still be productive at the age of 40. in his 18th major league season griffey senior a career 296 hitter i'm probably the only person or father to hear this from the on deck circle was come on dad the reunion of father and son the improbability one of those things is i would never see that in my lifetime [Music] [Music] to be able to be out there and play the game you know with your son and with your dad as a kid without a father something that uh that would have been a dream come true the griffeys were in the same batting order and the same outfield making one moment all but inevitable oh no don't don't talk about that i don't want to talk about that that just grounded him you just you want me to talk about him getting grounded don't you when i first got in the outfield i said i'm gonna cover three square feet and the rest is yours junior just kind of drifts over and just snatched it just cool as can be and his dad sit there trying to catch this ball i'll start ducking because i didn't know where the ball was i thought i was gonna get hit in the head i didn't think it was funny so what i did was i dropped off the field got in into the dugout i said come here i said you're grounded and i took the car keys from him they were the talk of baseball and having plenty of fun along the way most unforgettably on a september night in 1990 when senior and junior made even more history whose home run was better between you and grandpa oh gosh [Music] uh mine was better because what was yours better because he had no pressure he already hit it and he touched home plate he was like that's how you do it son kentz had some success against the angels when he was in the american league prior to joining the mariners fly ball sliced a fairly deep left center field divo white back can attract the wall makes the leap and the old man has done it one more time fly away so the night in anaheim after senior homers we're high-fiving at home and we're walking back to the dugout and i said to him junior does it right here man we got history back to back father and son such a short period of time it seems like senior and junior have done so many things as a first for father and son but they haven't done a back to back home run truck yet three old hit deep in the left center field and this ship will look up and father and son will be back to back home runs my oh my it's that in your baseball history book the first time in history that a father-son combo have hit back-to-back home runs so yours is better mine was better because he was already ain't nobody was on yeah what's he gonna say go say his was he gonna say his went further i say mine went out faster he he just did a little line drive just went over the wall and i hit straightaway center field so i i had the most pop that day i was there that day what i remember about the game is is certainly the two home runs but the the fun that ken griffey jr was having playing with his dad their joy of just being with each other as dad and son was something that you've never seen and it was so special that you just had to appreciate it you just had to enjoy it recognize the specialness of it between two people and now the m's one out away from their 82nd one of the year this set and the 01 pitch on the winner willow swinging a fly ball to center field griffey racing back to the ball he's there and it's over and the m's win their biggest game in the 15-year history of the franchise folks it is win number 82 that guarantees the mariners their first winning season big journeys can start with small steps and when the mariners began taking theirs ken griffey jr was right in the center all of a sudden this kid they called the kid ken griffey jr started making noise what a catch by griffey he brought an energy that seattle had never seen before when it came to baseball i mean it was incredible to watch him make seattle baseball relevant for the first time and as junior's young star sword the impact resonated far beyond seattle you know growing up in inner city it's like two sports that you play it's either basketball or football and that's just that's just the way it is but when you have a when i say like a phenom you know and ken griffey jr that's playing baseball it's like wow you know he's like the staple for you know young african-americans it's like i want to get out there too you know because what he's doing and how he's doing it and the way he looked the way he run the way he swing it's like he makes it he makes the game of baseball cool the coolest player in baseball could do it all dazzling not just fans but fellow players who got to see what he was capable of up close i mean junior was the first for me where i was just like man i got a front row ticket every day to see one of the best best shows in the game every day was a human highlight reel every day he was doing something where you just like really he was what baseball would call the total package it was like wow this kid was born to play this game a kid 19 years old who smiled had fun at one of the prettiest swings you've ever seen and then to have the flare and the gumption to flip his cap backwards and just hey this is who i am we beat to rap what he beat a lot but i'm cool like that i'm cool like that i'm cruel like that i'm cool like that i'm cool like that [Music] and at this point griffey has completely carved out his landing is tied to major league record home runs in eight consecutive games as the 1994 season started junior was already a four-time all-star and gold glove winner not to mention one of the sport's most feared home run threats that year he took it to another level his 40 home runs by mid-august put him in striking distance of roger maris's iconic single season record this dude had 40 home runs and it's august and then the strike kids yeah yeah well it is now official no more regular season no extended version of the playoffs and for the first time since 1904 no world series going into 1995 there was a a lot of question marks a lot of concern about the game of baseball because of the strike the year before players went on strike in august of 1994 and it didn't come back for a long time over 230 days the game did return in 95 but not before the work stoppage hurt baseball all over the country and no place worse than seattle where there was fear the team would leave town without an agreement to build a new park it is home one more time thank evans for opening night 1995 finally 95 was an important season not only for the seattle mariners but for uh major league baseball the game was in the dumps and a lot of people including me i think ken griffey came in he did a ton to save the game of baseball the 1-1 pitch on the way to junior belgium [Music] [Applause] [Music] and that's what 35 000 fans paid to see griffey and the m started 95 red hot with junior's bad assaulting pitching staffs across the league and his glove continuing to make just as big of an impact in center being a center fielder we're a different animal everything hit to us is fair the kid on his heart back to the warning whether it was climbing a wall cutting the ball off just day in and day out he was a true pleasure and joy to watch he play hard that's the only way junior knew how to play the game do i have the will to run into a wall make a diving catch go over top of a wall yeah i used to have conversations with junior about uh being a little more careful in the outfield and i tell junior i said you know i we need you in the lineup uh you can play a few balls safe here and there and he says skip he says i only play the game one way and that's hard and with reckless abandon you know as uh may 26 1995 playing the bald memorials kevin bass hit a long fly ball deep to right center field fastball hit in the air to right center field indeed i remember uh junior tracking it down i felt that it was going to be close whether he was going to get to it or not ken griffey jr leaps does he have it yes he does an incredible catch spider-man into the wall and you knew it was not good and it was like oh crap he started to walk off the field right away holding his his left arm you could see it damaged really damaged they may be seriously hurt as the meritorious trainer is out to take a look at him he really hit that wall hard doesn't look good no he's in real pain what a blow to the mariners i knew uh right away that this was going to be serious i didn't know how serious but i knew he's going to be out of the lineup for a while he is hurt he may have broken his wrist you could almost feel the silence not only in the kingdom but in the entire city he's like our star our dude our hope out after the game the diagnosis was official a broken left wrist that would require surgery less than 30 games into the season it appeared everyone's bright hopes had been completely shattered like he broke his wrist and uh we didn't expect him back the rest of the year i really did the man has managed to hang on floating around 500. holding our faith the junior could return towards the end of the summer [Music] initially it was a struggle but from july on it seemed that every night there was somebody stepping up and driving in some runs junior meanwhile couldn't even take being at the ballpark during games though we never stopped paying attention you know i couldn't do anything so i would rehab go back home rehab go back home my rehab in you know four o'clock so at five o'clock i'd be at home but there's one game where we're playing the yankees [Music] and it was beanball i mean it was guys getting drilled left and right wow that got lyrics ooh something's gonna break loose here i actually got in my car drove to the ballpark went got dressed went down into the bullpen it was like we go we going to go the fan's reaction i was like okay he's here i remember taking some early batting practice uh i remember seeing him hit a pitch in the left field seats i remember thinking you know he he just hit that ball further to the opposite field than i could ever pull that ball i was like all right i'm ready they said all right you're going to tacoma i said okay i went down to tacoma took three at bats i flew myself to minnesota so in 22 years of playing pro ball i got three at bats in tacoma and that was it that sounds like i'm not going back how do you sit out for months take no bp don't go on a rehab and you step right in the lineup i mean really how do you do that he played a different level played a different game i don't it's not fair i have this mentality of you know when i'm ready i'm ready you're not gonna tell me i'm gonna let you know when i'm ready the recovery went well and the return came on august 15th still with the mariners 11 and a half games behind the angels in the division it looked like it might be too little too late but no one told that to junior jr as in his first home run since may the 26th the night he got hurt when he finally got back playing it was like he hadn't missed any time [Music] you know the way we won we were slowly creeping up and then all of a sudden we like we were gaining the game at the time and i'm more like going is this really happening with junior leading the way seattle came all the way back and baby is this looking sweet it's unbelievable and after the final game of the season the mariners and angles were tied meaning a one-game tiebreaker was scheduled in front of a frenzied king dome on a monday afternoon the marines won big finishing off a phenomenal improbable run branding iron hot the ones who pissed randy looks to the skies any memories that's a kid hanging around here a little bit as a youngster with your dad here we got thrown out of yankee stadium no i mean it's it's been up and down i mean the memories uh you know my dad when he first signed really enjoyed playing for new york and after a while the things that were said about him in the paper he really didn't like the other thing was i came up to visit my dad and it was just me and him and got to the ballpark early i'm sitting in a dugout and um the security guard comes up and says hey george doesn't want anybody to dug out but it was like what he my son so he goes all right hey go on my locker he goes but before you go look at third base it's craig nettle's son taking ground balls at third base [Music] and at that time my dad was you know 38 years old he like i ain't fighting this no more i got somebody a little younger and a little bit better [Music] you know there's certain things that a dad drills into you as a kid that just sticks with you and that was one of them i mean what to beat the yankees yeah so it worked out perfectly 1995 junior's first trip to the playoffs pitted the man is against the team he'd been taught to despise and dominate first playoff game i hit two home runs [Music] rips it deep goodbye home run hitting the facade of the upper deck at yankee stadium deep to right field way back he has done it again ken griffey jr said to his teammates get on my back and i will carry you he had this ability sort of to sense the moment of the game we saw it so often uh whether it was a late inning home run whether it was a key situation in the game where we really needed a lift he just was able to deliver and deliver consistently he drills it deep to right field towards the gap 385 my goodbye home run he has done it again [Music] junior delivers his third home run of this series junior's playing great but we go down 0-2 in new york homer in the 15th inning we played two really really good baseball games but we got beat both games now it's a best of five series and the yankees have a two games to none lead and now the mariners got to win all three games at the kingdom everybody thought it was over the mariners need to win tonight to stay alive we battled back battled back [Music] as junior stayed hot the mariners took games three and four at home to even up the series the fastball swung around and hit the deep center field get out the right and the mustard this time grandma it is a grand salami and the murders lead at 10 to 6. [Music] we're at 2-2 no we didn't have nothing to lose because we're the little man on the totem pole so it's the battle of who wants it the most you know the big bad yankees or the little seattle mariners [Applause] the electricity in the kingdom was unmatched everyone had the little cardboard cutout sign refused to lose however many thousands of people completely sold out king dome it was just an incredible game back and forth and back and forth the mariners were down late in the game at the bottom of the eighth inning the one-old pitch on the way to junior that's going to be in the upper deck junior again hits a home run [Music] but then the game goes into extra innings of course it takes 11 innings this is epic 2-1 pitch to joey cora now he bumps the ball up the first base line it's a dandy and he is going to be safe and the mariners have the time run aboard and here comes junior would you believe this junior's up [Music] single [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] junior's on first he's the winning run edgar martinez comes up the mariners looking for the tie they would take a fly ball they would love a base hit into the gap and they could win it with junior speed everybody's going to be straight away edgar sprays it all over all right ball hit right center i can definitely go first to third left center first third left field line is a little softer if it stays down there and dead i can go from first to home it's my field so i know home field so it is junior takes off now he's on first there's no way he's gonna score and on the corner of my eye i could see the left fielder going for the ball and i can see junior he was flying i don't think he could have slowed down he was going so damn fast his stride the way he was ripping into the turf with his pleats i mean there was nobody that was going to stop him the throw to the plate will be later for the american league championship i don't believe i didn't know you could run that fast i ain't supposed to show that all the time they are going crazy i still have that visual of the dog home play and junior's head sticking out and that smile from here to here this has been a series that mariner fans are going to be talking about for the ages [Music] seeing his face underneath there smiling like he did you know that was the junior smile and that was the smile that epitomizes his joy of the game it was a little team in the northwest gets to play the big bad yankees and take him down scoring the winning run in the middle of that dream come true the biggest star in baseball had never looked so happy and plenty of people will also tell you that that victory saved baseball in seattle his going from first to home on edgar martinez's hit to win that series just made the mariners totally relevant you felt this pride this like civic connection it was a great story for anybody but to be living here and to watch that magic happen on the field it just felt that much more personal i used to sit with my dad in the garage the sawdust that pines all in the moss around every spring when the winner thought we'd huddle around the radio twist the broken knife we felt like seattle was on the metal it wasn't just for the mariners that was huge but our city was finally getting respect and that was because of griffy that was because of the energy that junior brought to the team that he brought to baseball another victory yes my city my city childhood my life under those lights major league baseball following his arrow to 1995 ken griffey jr was undeniably the face of baseball and his face was just about everywhere ken griffey jr athlete hey nick bennett this is equipment for president commercials you know he's running for president right he had all the ingredients of the star the skills the swag the smile and the desire to be in the center of the spotlight dad was very popular in the 90s he was a superstar i don't know if he realized all the things he was doing i played for the mariners but deep down i'm a tiger fan he was one of the first to be able to cross over he's a hell of a baseball player but at the same time he's doing movies he's doing tv shows he's in cartoons he was in the simpsons freshman prince at bel air all the hey it's me ken commercials jr video games wheaties boxes magazine covers griffy is a celebrity on a whole another level that we had never had in seattle until that point green pieces for ken gerke jr i as his agent was getting tons of calls tons of requests for junior hey look at all these toppings oh this kid the smile on his face the way he plays we really want to get behind him and have him be part of our company he wasn't baseball's only star but he had a sense of what set him apart from everyone else why isn't uh barry bonds rather bell as well known in europe or asia as you are what's that smile there you go of course i'm much better looking than him guys ultimately the true measure of junior's popularity might have come in the form of something unprecedented no baseball player at this time had a signature shoe ken griffey jr by far had that it factor how old were you when you first started dreaming about someday having your own shoe even though when you were a teenager well signature shoes weren't as big growing up first day when jordan put on his it's the first time you until one month dreaming somebody like tell my mom i said i'm gonna have my own she's like yeah right you know mom's back you gotta show your little son you know that take out the garbage yeah i don't do what you gotta do ten years later boom got my own this is before there was such thing as swag in the big lakes man nobody had anything like this y'all didn't understand a baseball player to have a shoe we was all wearing knees man we was rocking kid griffey jrs man we look very carefully about who it is that we advertise you got to have a great athlete and that's great on and off the field and and also have a kind of a charisma about them we had seen athletes on the basketball court really transcend the game but we'd never really seen that on the baseball field before until junior came along but while all of it the shoes the sponsors the commercials reflected the success junior knew better than anyone else that what really drove it came on the field he knew that baseball was a staple like this is what i'm here to do and if all those other things happen then cool but i'm here to produce on this baseball field well hit ball to right field and there it goes ken griffey jr's 200th home run in the big leagues and from 1996 through 1999 even in an era of questionably inflated offensive numbers elsewhere griffey had a run of production like few others in history he can do it all averaging 52 home runs and more than 140 rbis [Music] [Applause] winning an mvp award and four more gold gloves and center along the way when you talk about a player like ken griffey jr this kid had it from day one he was a natural there he goes and that's amazing to me when you see a kid can get out there and play every day and produce like he did this kid was one in a million a decade after his debut ken griffey jr had been virtually everything mare and his fans could have dreamed of when he first arrived in seattle he'd become nothing less than the best player in the game leading the team to two division titles [Music] and making possible the construction of a new home for the club my friends make no mistake about it in years to come this will be the house that griffey built the mariners were getting ready to move in their brand new home the house that griffey built safe goal field but at the end of june the mariners played their final game at home at the kingdom packed house batting third center fielder number 24 ken griffey jr he had this ability to sense the moment as a player as an athlete and then to be able to deliver on demand almost it's like nothing i had ever seen junior right field down the line there it and this goes may not have to have the lid removed it may blow up right now look this is storybook stuff first at bat in the kingdome welcome ken griffey jr you hit a home run lasted fast in the kingdome you hit a home run holy smoke ken griffey jr with a three-rod homer come on is that really that's just too deja vu again that's typical junior doing things that nobody else can do and nobody else will do garcia is one old picture swung on hit well to center field griffey going back he's at the track he leaps and they make the catch the fairytale ending of that last game the guy gave us one last amazing look at what that building meant for seattle baseball what it meant for him it seemed only fitting at the time you would think the mariners had just won the world series this place exploding the end of the king dome was the end of an era in seattle and it happened to coincide with changes in junior's life at home when ken griffey jr got to seattle he was a 19 year old kid we had the chance to watch him grow into one of the greatest ball players of all time but we also had a chance to watch him grow up and become a husband and a great father junior has a huge appreciation for his family melissa and his kids you can't have a conversation without junior having one or all of them mentioned growing up family was important the baseball or sports was always secondary everything was about family sharing making sure everybody was okay whoever didn't have anything we made sure they had it so that was the important things about us in terms of family to me i'm a hero to three people and those are the people in my family and now that the kid had kids of his own he was intent on finding a way of staying close by despite the realities of the rhythms of the season you know the first time your kid walks you may or may not be home the first time he says he or she says something you may be on a 14-day road trip is it the price we pay to pursue a dream yeah but my kids they didn't sign up for it i'm a normal dad with an abnormal job and i want my family to be normal at the end of the 99 season that was going to be the first point where junior was not going to be around his family for a good period of time the fall of 99 was going to be trey's first year in kindergarten to be honest with you those last six weeks of the 99 season junior was miserable he really missed melissa and the kids you know we lived in florida so it was very hard on your dad and you know he missed us a lot but um you know we got through it growing up i had my dad's family and my mom's family within five blocks of each other so family was supposed to be close junior had one more year on his contract with every intention of honoring that but it became obvious that a decision had to be made either play closer to that florida home or stay in seattle so it was really gut wrenching but junior broke the news to him he said i'm sorry this is becoming too difficult for me not to be with the family the mariners said look can we work with you to trade junior so at least we get some value for him and junior told them to just focus on trading him to cincinnati where he grew up and where his dad was working for the team as a coach it was a family decision i know how hard it is to to raise a family and to be a single mom and i just wanted to be a dad this is a special edition of northwest sports tonight on fox sports net hi everyone i'm tom glasgow and welcome to this special edition of northwest sports tonight goodbye griffey end of an era ken griffey jr's spectacular 11-year career with the mariners ended today when the 10-time all-star was traded to the cincinnati reds we left seattle sucked the trade [Music] a part of us died when junior left just about a half hour ago a corporate jet brought junior and his family back to the queen city these are scenes from chopper 9 at lunken airport it was like our hero was gone that was it [Music] february 10 2000 february 10th 2000. that day we'll go down in red's history and we'll go down to major league history and one of the biggest trades in the history of our sport took place when the michael jordan of baseball came home to cincinnati well i'm finally home [Music] i don't fault him for it i don't think anybody faults him for it his dad played in cincinnati my dad gets to take my son to the ballpark and i mean that's one of the main reasons why i came back i can't blame you in there one bit but it just really left an empty feeling in my heart when he when he basically i got the phone call and he said i'm going for me you were losing a teammate that i'd played with for you know five six seasons uh you'd seen him do what he did for the club with his tenure here he just was um he was seattle baseball to see him go was was difficult i really don't know what to say i mean this is something that you dream of as a little kid and you know i finally did it i finally back in the hometown where i watch so many great ballplayers play i get to go on the field i always felt that junior would play his entire career in seattle he had such an impact the city was truly affected the mariner fans were affected and it made things rather gloomy in seattle some people don't like the decisions that people make but in the best interest of my family i felt that cincinnati was the place i fought i thought i would be happiest [Music] when the word came out the junior was coming back this city lost its mind the expectation level was was through the roof well we're winning the world series for sure there's no way you could have junior griffey here and not win the whole thing it was it was an incredible feeling around the city there's something about having junior come home it brought so much vitality to cincinnati so much urban pride and it brought an extraordinary amount of hope when he arrived in spring training the people were just abuzz is it almost embarrassing to see this much hoopla for your arrival uh yeah you know because i don't consider myself any different than anybody else on our team and i just want to go out there and play and help this ball club you know win a championship griffey the big story of the off-season moving to the reds his first game of the cincinnati ball club he's come home i didn't really understand the full magnitude of when he left seattle to go back home until i became a professional and understood what it means to play in front of your home fans there's nothing like it here was junior running out to center field on opening day at the same field that his dad had those great years and those world championships with the cincinnati reds in the mid 70s it was just so much fanfare and he didn't disappoint swansea deep right field junior has homework for the first time so it began as a baseball fairy tale surrounded by friends and family with his dad as his new team's bench coach ken griffey jr was exactly where he wanted to be ken griffey jr has just hit his 400th career home run junior does it on his dad's birthday that's some kind of birthday present this was home for him and he was raised here in cincinnati that's the only team he wanted to play for was the cincinnati reds and that's where he shined griffey with his second of the day and again they stand and roar for him here in cincinnati he's their new hero there were plenty of familiar sights [Music] in the game but now he was a hometown kid for the fans to this adore back yes siree junior's done it again two home run game for junior and the reds have taken the lead unbelievable in his first season in cincinnati junior remained a familiar force at the plate with 40 homers and 118 rbis the man who the reds got to do this just did it but late that year there was an ominous sign of the kind of trouble to come here's the throw girardi will slap the tag on him and he's out is junior okay hold on a minute now look he's holding the back of the leg too where the hamstring area is the hamstring injury would sideline him for most of september of 2000 and then linger in the 2001. and turned out to be the first in a string of injuries to the third they got junior to run down he was running back and forth in a rundown between third and home barrett takes it and goes back to trouby they tag griffey and griffey is down holding on to his right knee and good gracious he went down and just grabbed his knee and my heart sunk he didn't want to come out he didn't want to be on a disabled list probably the hardest thing we had to do was explain to him how serious this was and how he had to make this better or he could end his career right there junior takes off for a second and he'll go in standing with a double and here we go again junior is leaving he was suddenly the superstar who couldn't stay on the field and though it seemed every new season started with promise it was almost inevitable when they got cut short junior he's on a flat out run still going can't get there that'll clear up three-run score junior on the warning track is hurt again when junior was with seattle i don't think there was a player in the game who played it harder than junior griffey he's scaling walls he's diving he's laying out but the truth of the matter is you know that all that wear and tear it takes you you know a toll on your body and so by the time the junior got to cincinnati you know maybe it'd slow down just a touch and it's gone from bad to worse in cincinnati [Music] this started to take a little toll on junior and looked like junior was limping as he went into second base but now he's on his way out of this game and he's hearing the boobs i know some of the fans aren't buying it the disappointment amongst the fans the media junior was a little sensitive to that in all the injuries that he's had the fans are questioning whether it's physical or mental i don't think people realize how beat up he was it was very hard for me to read in a paper or listening on the talk shows about junior's dog he's not running a hundred percent they didn't realize when he injured these things that you don't come back at 100 you can't be the kid you were at age 23 24 or 25 long run for griffey still going it rolls to the wall clark with at least two bags he's heading for third and he'll make it easily [Music] there have been a lot of days in the career of ken griffey jr where he would have put that one right in his pocket he's walking gingerly as he heads back in from the warning track in right center and the reds trainers coming out we have a righteous hamstring and we found out that the entire hamstring that's made up of three big muscles had pulled completely off the bone there were huge injuries partly was the fact that he played so hard i remember doing a baseball tonight at espn and one of the people that was on the show with me said well griffey has to learn to not play that hard my reaction was that he shouldn't play because he doesn't know how to play without playing really hard even through the setbacks the march to major milestones continued and in 2004 came one of his brightest moments in cincinnati a piece of history just about everyone had seen coming since his first days in the big leagues all of the eyes are riveted to home plate right now as griffey stands in 499 career home runs here he is pounding to play with ahead of the bat and waiting and morris delivered and a high drive hit back into deep right field junior has just knocked the door down to the 500 club a high drive into the lower deck and right number 30 touches a standing ovation here at busch stadium a packed house they're on their feet and they salute [Music] [Laughter] [Music] how about that hug on father's day what a special moment for the griffey family it is still amazing to watch your son do something like this well it's amazing period i mean just think after all the troubles he's been through the last three years and seems to be healthy and that's the important thing i think that's what a lot of people have not seen over the last three years that he's been hurt and you know they've been taking their frustrations out on him but like i said if he's healthy he's still one of the better ball players in this league four years later came another landmark as junior became just the sixth player to hit 600 home runs griffey swings there it goes long flat ball right field it is number 600 for ken griffey jr from the moment and left the bat absolutely no question where it was going to end up in the end though there were some highlights and some history his run as the hometown kid hardly ended up being the baseball fairy tale people were expecting but the junior there were no regrets about the way it worked out when you play sports you know that injuries are part of the game it's just the way it is and if you play hard and it happens oh well yeah i've had two wrist surgeries a hand surgery ankle knee and hamstring surgery and shoulder surgery but would i change the way i play no here the very exciting day for this organization the seattle mariners are very proud and very happy to announce that we have come an agreement with ken griffey jr you always wanted to you know start and end your career with the same team you know not saying that this is the end of my career um but it's an opportunity for me to to do what i said i was going to do and that's come back here [Music] ken griffey jr was 39 years old when he came back to seattle in 2009 setting up the storybook ending to his hall of fame career he came back he wanted to finish his career when he started and he wanted to give back to the city that supported him from day one [Music] recognized the standing ovation coming back to seattle it had to be two parts one they had the they gotta want you and the second is can you still perform are you ready what after you expect continue to come through on opening day and i knew my role wasn't you know play every day it was to to mold some of the younger guys big ovation as you would expect here at safe goal field continuing tribute to the greatest player in mariner history drive to right going back home number 630 certain iconic sports figures leave an impression on the game in which they played from the day he put on that uniform for the very first time to the day that he took it off junior played the game the right way and playing the game the right way in junior's era had a very particular meaning putting him in stark contrast to many of his rivals ken griffey played the game the way it should be played over 600 home runs and doing the things that he did and he did it all natural you had a lot of players in the game that were using performance-enhancing drugs he did not i thoroughly believe it and that's the way he was and that's the way he played that's why people loved him i look at junior he was the cleanest of that generation and there's no doubt in my mind that he didn't cheat that's important i think when you start thinking about the legacy of guys today playing with ken griffey jr every day i recognized the greatness and appreciated it when it was upon me when it was all over there were 630 home runs 13 all-star appearances 10 gold gloves and an impact on the game beyond what you can measure with numbers i didn't play this game because of the money i didn't do it for the fame i did it because i loved baseball this is my moment and i want it i own the kid was a 13-time all-star a 10-time gold glove award winner in center field and a seven-time silver for him to go into cooperstown it's his rightful place [Music] history made 99.3 for ken griffey jr who are those three guys [Music] you want me to just be candid who the hell didn't vote for seriously i mean how can you not vote for the guy who are the three people that didn't vote for griffey to get into the hall of fame i can answer it three yankee fans hey let's talk about cooper's town what we're going to do in july how's your speech going honey do you need some help with it i can write a speech for you told you i'm nervous i'm here today to witness this thing called life will you be nervous when you get there i don't get nervous no i don't get nervous i got you dad when you're prepared for something you don't get nervous it's like taking a test if you study for a test what you got to be nervous about are you excited to go yes but is this going to be okay i told you i'm going to start off with prince are you going to write it down prince like that's how you're going to do this no he's not going to write down a speech i'm going to write it down i'm gonna do it it's kind of a requirement okay it's kind of like you're trying to fill it on paper you gotta wing it now how long is the speech gonna be i think you have a timeline right okay almost let's see all right let's see you get 12 to 15 minutes so that's like three print songs oh my goodness i'm gonna start off with uh controversy listen to rick corvette i like that you want us to introduce you like who does introduce you the commissioner of baseball oh [Music] george kenneth griffey jr ken jr the kid [Music] [Applause] i would like to thank the hall of fame and their staff for an unbelievable weekend here in cooperstown also like to thank the writers for writing for [Music] i got a couple of these somewhere this guy goes down as one of the all-time greats it's plain and simple i'd now like to thank the seattle married work nation for taking a chance on a 17 year old kid allowing him to play this great game of baseball [Music] to my dad to tell me how to play this game but more like more importantly he taught me how to be a man i used to tease him all the time i tell him i said you have all the home runs i got all the rings but he has the big ring now and i'm one of the proudest fathers ever will be trey taran and tevin words can't describe how much of it i love you and would do anything for you people don't know a lot about him and i think the people that do come in contact with him realize he's a good man and good husband good father [Music] melissa my wife my best friend i love you just he's always done it the right way and that's his legacy looking back i got to do and say things that have never been said i got a chance to play with my dad i got to yell at him and tell him to get a hit the biggest thing is he always had a good time playing the game and i think that would probably be more of his legacy than anything hitting the warehouse in baltimore that may have hit the warehouse and they announced it there was nobody like you got a backwards hat you got an unbelievable swing i mean the kid was a natural the 95 series they are going crazy at the kingdom when i look at junior and i think about all the things that he did in this game of baseball this may be the greatest player who ever put on a baseball uniform but i'm gonna leave you with one thing out of my 22 years [Music] i learned that one team will treat you the best and that's your first team i'm damn proud to be a seattle mariners there's just too many things that he did special day in and day out they'll never be another king griffey jr fury i want to thank my family my friends the fans the reds the white sox and mariners [Applause] for making this kid dream come true [Applause] [Music] i don't worry about legacy i didn't try to be anybody but me you know i didn't imitate anybody i just wanted to be who i was i'm just ken griffey jr and nobody else [Music]

Channel: Ryan Smith: Sacking Mental Illness Podcast

Views: 1,533,768

Keywords: Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr.

Id: RPtrlkid-xU

Length: 68min 42sec (4122 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 12 2021