Ken Griffey | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Donora, Pennsylvania, U.S. | April 10, 1950|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
August 25, 1973, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 31, 1991, for the Seattle Mariners | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .296 |
Hits | 2,143 |
Home runs | 152 |
Runs batted in | 859 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
George Kenneth Griffey Sr. (born April 10,1950) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1973 through 1991,most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three division titles and two World Series championships between 1973 and 1976. [1] He also played for the New York Yankees,Atlanta Braves,and Seattle Mariners.
A three-time All-Star,Griffey hit over .300 in five seasons for the powerful Cincinnati batting order that was known as the Big Red Machine for their dominance of the National League in the mid-1970s. [1] In 2004,Griffey was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. [1] He is the father of Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.;the two were teammates on the Mariners for 51 games between 1990 and 1991.
Griffey was raised by a single mother of six;his father Buddy—a high school teammate of another Hall of Fame outfielder,Stan Musial—left the family when Griffey was two years old. In a 2016 interview with ESPN,he said he did not see his father again until he was 16. His contemporaries in his hometown of Donora,Pennsylvania,did not think he would become a baseball star;they considered his best sport to be football,where he was a star wide receiver. Griffey himself considered football to be his best sport,followed by basketball,track,and only then baseball. At times,he even competed in track meets during baseball games,rushing up the hill between Donora High School's baseball field and track between at-bats when it came time for his track events.[ citation needed ]
However,as his high school graduation in 1969 neared,he discovered his girlfriend was pregnant. He was soon chosen by the Cincinnati Reds in the 29th round (682nd overall) of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft, [2] signed with the organization,and married his girlfriend. After his first minor-league season,Ken Jr. was born. Though Griffey left Donora in 1972 as his professional career advanced,he retained close ties to the town. [3]
Griffey made his MLB debut with the Reds on August 25,1973,finishing 2-for-4 in a 6–4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. [4] That season,Griffey played in only 25 games,but batted .384 with three home runs and 14 RBI. [5] The following season,Griffey saw more playing time with 88 games,and hit .251 with two home runs and 19 RBI. [5] In 1975,Griffey began to break out with a .305 batting average with four home runs and 46 RBI in 132 games. [5]
Griffey's best season came in 1976,when he came just short of winning the batting title behind Bill Madlock of the Chicago Cubs. Griffey chose to sit out the final day of the season to protect his batting title,but it came back to haunt him as Madlock collected four hits that same day. Griffey entered the game late after hearing the news,and went 0-for-2. [6] Many baseball purists[ who? ] were disappointed in Griffey (and perhaps more so in his manager,Sparky Anderson,for choosing to sit him out to gain an individual accolade).[ citation needed ] Griffey finished with a career-high .336 average,six home runs,and 74 RBI in 148 games. He also finished with a career-high 34 stolen bases. [5] After the season,he finished eighth in NL Most Valuable Player voting, [7] and was named to the Sporting News National League All-Star team. [8] The Reds won their second consecutive World Series title in 1976,but that year also marked the beginning of the end of their "Big Red Machine" phase. In the next four seasons,Griffey batted .318,.288,.316,and .294 with a total of 43 home runs. [5] In Griffey's final season of his first stint with the Reds,the strike-shortened 1981 campaign,he batted .311 with only two home runs and 34 RBI in 101 games. [5]
On November 4,1981,the Reds traded Griffey to the New York Yankees for Fred Toliver and Brian Ryder. [9] He played for the Yankees from 1982 to 1986 at first base and outfield. Injuries often plagued Griffey,who hit .306 with 11 homers and 46 RBI in 1983,his best season with the Yankees. [5] Tommy John thought Griffey was a better player on Astroturf fields (like Riverfront Stadium) than natural grass fields (like Yankee Stadium). [10] An incident during his tenure,where he was told to take his son off the field,while white teammate Graig Nettles' son was allowed to stay,resulted in Griffey's son refusing to ever sign with the Yankees. [11]
On June 30,1986,Griffey was traded to the Atlanta Braves alongside Andre Robertson in exchange for Claudell Washington and Paul Zuvella. [5] [12] Griffey played only one full season with the Braves in 1987,batting .286 with 14 home runs and 64 RBI in 122 games. [5] However,he struggled to begin the 1988 season,batting .249 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 69 games. [5] On July 28,Griffey was released by the Braves. [5]
Five days after his release from the Braves,Griffey signed a contract to return to the Reds on August 2. [13] He batted .280 with two home runs and 4 RBI in 25 games with the Reds to finish the season. [5] He spent the 1989 season with the Reds,and was then released in the middle of the Reds' championship 1990 season. [5] Griffey then signed with the Seattle Mariners to conclude the season,joining his son,Ken Jr. [14] By becoming teammates with his son,they became the first father and son to be teammates in Major League Baseball. [15] Although he played in only 21 games to finish the season,Griffey excelled,batting .377 with three home runs and 18 RBI. [5] On December 17,1990,he returned to the Mariners on a one-year deal for the 1991 season. [16]
Griffey played in his final major league game on May 31,1991 against the Texas Rangers. [17] In November 1991,Griffey chose to retire after 19 seasons due to a neck injury. [18] In 1,997 games,Griffey compiled a lifetime batting average of .296,with 152 home runs and 859 RBI. [5] Griffey was also the Most Valuable Player of the 1980 All-Star Game. In 2014,Griffey published his memoir Big Red:Baseball,Fatherhood,and My Life in the Big Red Machine,in which he discussed his childhood,formative years,professional career with both the Reds and the Yankees,and his relationships with friends and family. [19]
Joseph "Buddy" Griffey was a local athlete who was a teammate of Stan Musial on the Donora High School baseball team. [20] He was the father of Ken Griffey Sr. and the grandfather of Ken Griffey Jr.
The Griffeys (Ken Sr. and Ken Jr.) became the first father-and-son tandem to play on the same Major League Baseball team at the same time. They played their first game together for the Seattle Mariners on August 31,1990 against the Kansas City Royals. [21] On September 14,1990,father and son hit back-to-back home runs in a game against the California Angels;this is the only time in major league history that this has happened. [22] Griffey's younger son Craig played in the Mariners' minor league system and appeared with his brother in the outfield during some Cactus League games. Craig Griffey retired from baseball after failing to make it past Triple-A,where he appeared in a handful of games with the Tacoma Rainiers. [23]
Griffey was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2004. [24] In 2010,Griffey was hired as the batting coach for the Dayton Dragons,the Reds' Single-A minor league affiliate. [25] In 2011,he was named manager of the Bakersfield Blaze,the Reds' Single-A affiliate of the California League. [26] In 2014,Griffey was replaced by Pat Kelly. [27] Griffey remained in the organization as a roving instructor,focusing on hitting and bunting.
Griffey's grandson Trey Griffey went undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft and spent time with the Indianapolis Colts,Miami Dolphins,and Pittsburgh Steelers. [28]
George Kenneth Griffey Jr., nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, along with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first overall pick in the 1987 draft, and a 13-time All-Star, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run.
The following are the baseball events of the year 2004 throughout the world.
Michael Lewis Greenwell is an American former left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire MLB career with the Boston Red Sox (1985–1996). He played seven games for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan (1997), before retiring. Greenwell was nicknamed "The Gator". He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1987. Greenwell was a leading contender for the American League MVP award in 1988, but lost to Jose Canseco, who had the first 40 home run, 40 stolen base season in baseball history. Greenwell hit .325 with 22 home runs and 119 RBIs in 1988, setting career highs in all three categories.
Rubén Angel Sierra García is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. Over 20 seasons, Sierra played for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics (1992–95), New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers (1996), Cincinnati Reds (1997), Toronto Blue Jays (1997), Chicago White Sox (1998), Seattle Mariners (2002) and Minnesota Twins (2006). Sierra also signed with the Cleveland Indians at the end of 1999, but was released towards the end of spring training in March 2000.
The following are the baseball events of the year 2001 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1998 throughout the world.
Robinson José Canó Mercedes is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League; he also captains the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Atlanta Braves.
Jeffrey Alan Burroughs is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1970 through 1985, for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1970–76), Atlanta Braves (1977–80), Seattle Mariners (1981), Oakland Athletics (1982–84) and Toronto Blue Jays (1985).
The 1995 Seattle Mariners season was the 19th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of 79–66 (.545) to win their first American League West title, after having been down by as many as 13 games in early August. They had tied the California Angels for first place, and in the one-game tiebreaker, the Mariners defeated the Angels 9–1 to make the postseason for the first time in franchise history.
Jay Allen Bruce is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees. The Reds drafted Bruce in the first round, 12th overall pick, of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft; he made his MLB debut in 2008. Bruce was named an All-Star three times during his career, and won the Silver Slugger Award twice.
The 1990 Seattle Mariners season was the 14th for the Seattle Mariners in Major League Baseball. Under second-year manager Jim Lefebvre, they finished fifth in the American League West at 77–85 (.475). It was the second-best record in the M's history up to that point in time; the win total was one behind the club record set in 1987. The Mariners hit six grand slams, the most in MLB in 1990.
The 2000 Cincinnati Reds season was the 131st season for the franchise in Major League Baseball. It consisted of the Cincinnati Reds attempting to win the National League Central, although coming short in second place. They had a record of 85 wins and 77 losses. The Reds became only the second team in the modern era of baseball not be shut out for an entire season, joining the 1932 New York Yankees. The 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers later accomplished this feat, but their season was shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 1976 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The Reds entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The Reds dominated the league all season and won their second consecutive National League West title with a record of 102–60, finishing ten games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the best record in baseball, they went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS in three straight games to reach the World Series. They proceeded to win the title in four straight games over the New York Yankees. They were the third and most recent National League team to achieve this distinction, and the first since the 1921–22 New York Giants. The Reds drew 2,629,708 fans to their home games at Riverfront Stadium, an all-time franchise attendance record. As mentioned above, the Reds swept through the entire postseason with their sweeps of the Phillies and Yankees, achieving a record of 7-0. As of 2024, the Reds are the only team in baseball history to sweep through an entire postseason in the divisional era.
The 1992 Major League Baseball season saw the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Atlanta Braves in the World Series, becoming the first team outside the United States to win the World Series.
Jesse Winker is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, and Washington Nationals. He was an All-Star in 2021.
Michael Harrison Ford is an American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and Cincinnati Reds.
Jakob Christopher Bauers is an American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees. He bats and throws left-handed.
Shedric Bernard Long Jr. is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners.
Tommy Wayne "Trey" Amburgey III is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.