Cincinnati Reds'

Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings January 8, 2016

MLB.COM MLB.com Columnist Happy cappers: Griffey, Piazza make plaque picks Junior will be first inducted as Mariner; catcher chooses Mets By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com | @boomskie | January 7th,

NEW YORK -- The decision on which team's cap to wear into the National Baseball Hall of Fame is sometimes met with consternation. But not this year.

Ken Griffey Jr. will be the first to go in as a Mariner, and Mike Piazza chose the Mets, the electees revealed Thursday.

"I played 13 years in Seattle, which is longer than I played for the other two teams I played for -- Chicago and Cincinnati," Griffey said about the team that picked him No. 1 overall in the 1987 Draft. "I think I did most of my damage as a Mariner. You know, you want to be first in a lot of things, so I wanted to wear a Mariners hat and go into the Hall of Fame as a Mariner."

Piazza, drafted 1,390th by the Dodgers in 1988, said he had a lot of fondness for that franchise, and after a discussion with Hall of Fame Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda (a longtime family friend), Piazza still recognized the right thing for him to do was to go in wearing a Mets cap, becoming the second player to do so. The other was Tom Seaver -- the player Griffey passed on Wednesday when he was elected with a record 99.3 percent of the vote. (Seaver was named on 98.84 percent of ballots in 1992.) Piazza was named on 83 percent of the ballots.

"I talked to Tommy last night and I kind of told him what I was thinking," Piazza said. "I think this game is funny. We sort of had similar paths like when [Griffey] went to the Cincinnati Reds. For me, as much as I enjoyed my time [in Los Angeles], I ended up in New York and feel like the fans here truly brought me into their family. Every time I've come back, I've been so incredibly honored.

"Unfortunately, you have to choose one, and for me, I always enjoyed reconnecting in New York." Griffey was asked specifically whether the cap on his plaque would be facing forward or, characteristically for him, flipped with the brim back.

"Forward," he said. "Then back."

After receiving his Hall of Fame hat, Ken Griffey Jr. pauses to think about wearing it backward as he often did as a player

Unless the bronze plaques become holograms, it will have to be one or the other.

There was not as much certainty about caps the past two years when eligible members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America elected seven players and the Expansion Era Committee chose three managers.

Randy Johnson had so much angst about choosing the D-backs over the Mariners, he apologized profusely to Seattle fans. Johnson played fewer seasons for the D-backs, but still chose to go in as the first Arizona player so honored in the Hall.

Craig Biggio played his entire 20-year career for the Astros and went into the Hall as the first Houston player.

John Smoltz and Tom Glavine went in as Braves. For Smoltz, the choice was easy. He played 20 years in Atlanta, finishing by splitting a single season between the Red Sox and Cardinals. Glavine pitched five of his last six seasons with the Mets, winning his 300th game in New York.

Joe Torre managed five teams, but he said the nexus of his career was managing the Yankees for 12 seasons. He went in with the interlocking NY on his cap. Cox, like Smoltz, went in as a Brave. That was a no-brainer, since Cox managed 25 years in Atlanta and only four in Toronto. But it's not always that cut and dried.

Griffey played his first 11 seasons with the Mariners before the trade that sent him on to nine seasons with the Reds, his hometown team and the one his father, Ken Griffey Sr., played for when the Big Red Machine won the World Series in 1975 and '76. Junior finished with the White Sox and had a curtain call for the Mariners, for whom he still works as a consultant.

Griffey is correct. He did most of his damage in Seattle, where he hit 417 of his 630 homers (sixth all-time) and batted .292. During his injury-plagued tour with the Reds, Griffey hit 210 homers and batted .270. Ten of his 13 All-Star appearances were in the American League, and he won all 10 of his Gold Gloves in consecutive years while playing center field for the Mariners.

Griffey recalled hitting back-to-back homers with his dad when the youngster was 20 years old and Senior was in the waning years of his career. It was 1990 and both were with the Mariners. These are the kind of things that have an imprint.

"I figured, like any other 20-year-old, it was no big deal," Griffey Jr. recalled. "Then my dad said, 'You know, we just went back to back. [No father and son] had ever done that.' I said, 'Yeah, OK. Let's do it again.' At 38, 39, he understood the history of the game, where I was just a rookie player happy to be playing every day. As I got older, I understood what I've accomplished and how it all paid off. That's why I'm going into the weekend with a Seattle Mariners hat on."

Mike Piazza reflects on his playing career with the Dodgers, starting his career in Los Angeles and playing for Tommy Lasorda Piazza is from Norristown, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, and his dad, Vince, was a best friend of Lasorda's. Much has been said and written about how Lasorda did the Piazzas a favor by having the Dodgers pick him in the 62nd round of the 1988 Draft. No one figured Piazza to be a keeper, but that's the way things sometimes work out. Piazza wound up hitting 427 homers, 397 of them as a catcher, the most ever for a player at that position. Piazza established himself in his first seven years with the Dodgers, hitting .331 with 177 of those homers. A pending free agent, he was traded to the Mets through the Marlins because of a dispute over that contract.

Mike Piazza discusses a wild point in his career where he was traded twice and played on three teams during the 1998 season In eight years for the Mets, Piazza batted .296 and hit 220 homers before finishing his career with a year each in San Diego and Oakland. During the 2000 World Series, which the Mets lost to the Yankees in five games, he batted .273 (6-for-22) with two homers and four RBIs.

There was the game-winning two-run homer Piazza hit against the Braves in the eighth inning at Shea Stadium on Sept. 21, 2001, the first home game after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. And despite his family tie and deep roots with the Dodgers, ever since then, his heart belonged to New York.

"As far as my hat, I want to be very clear: As much as I loved coming up with the Dodgers -- and I will always cherish my time there -- I'll be going in as a New York Met," Piazza said. "I had an amazing career [in L.A.] as far as getting to know Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, the Hall of Famers. But fortunately for me, I eventually ended up in New York. In some ways, if you perform here, you truly have a special relationship with the New York fans. So, thank you."

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseball. Follow @boomskie on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Griffey has no regrets about time with Reds Newly elected Hall of Famer was hampered by injuries in Cincinnati By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | January 7th, 2016 + 3 COMMENTS

CINCINNATI -- When new Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. asked for a trade from the Mariners to his hometown Reds before the 2000 season, he likely envisioned a much better outcome than he actually had during the latter half of his great career.

But as Griffey noted during a Hall of Fame news conference in New York on Thursday, "Father Time is undefeated."

"It was a learning experience," Griffey told MLB.com later during a drive through the city. "As you get older, you can't avoid Father Time. Things happen. I ran into a few walls and didn't get up right away."

During the first 11 years of his career with Seattle, Griffey had already achieved Hall of Fame-worthy feats, even before his arrival in Cincinnati. He slugged 40 or more homers six times, including in four consecutive seasons from 1996-99. He hit a career-high 56 homers in both the '97 and '98 seasons. In '97, he was the unanimous pick for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

Griffey was also a 10-time AL All-Star and Gold Glove winner while with the Mariners. As popular as he was in the Pacific Northwest, he still desired the opportunity to play in Cincinnati, where Griffey grew up and where father, Ken Griffey Sr., played with the Reds.

With the Reds, there was only one winning season -- Griffey's first year for the club in 2000, also the year of his final 40-homer season. He made three more All-Star teams and did not win another Gold Glove while batting .300 just once -- in 2005.

One of the culprits behind Griffey's decline and unfinished business? Injuries. He missed 453 games from 2000-07 with disabled-list stints for injuries that included a completely torn left hamstring in 2001, a torn patellar tendon in his right knee and also a torn right hamstring in 2002, a dislocated right shoulder in 2003 and torn right ankle tendon in 2003, a torn right hamstring again in 2004 and strained biceps tendon in his right knee in 2006. In only two seasons -- 2000 and '07 -- did Griffey play at least 140 games.

There were no regrets about playing in Cincinnati, however. "If you play hard, injuries are part of the game," Griffey said. "It would have been disappointing if I didn't get hurt and had those same numbers. Being hurt, you have to constantly adjust. Baseball is a game of constantly adjusting from pitch to pitch."

There were numerous great memories for the Reds, too. Junior was with the team when he hit his 500th career homer on Father's Day in 2004 and slugged No. 600 shortly before his trade to the White Sox in 2008. In 2001, he won a game in walk-off fashion with an inside-the-park home run at Cinergy Field.

And most important, perhaps, Griffey Jr. was able to play for the team his father played on during the elder Griffey's prime with the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. "I grew up in Cincinnati," Griffey Jr. said. "I put on the same uniform my dad actually wore one time in a throwback game. I just took it from home and wore it."

When his plaque is completed, though, Griffey will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 24 while wearing a Mariners cap.

Newly elected Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza choose team hats for their plaques in Cooperstown, the Mariners and Mets "I think I did most of my damage as a Mariner," Griffey said during the news conference beside fellow elected player Mike Piazza. "I want to be the first in a lot of things. To be able wear a Mariners hat and be the first Mariner to ever go into the Hall of Fame as a Mariner, that's one, or part of, the decisions I had to make. Being 19, they gave me the opportunity to play the game that I love. I spent most of the time in Seattle." Now 46, Griffey was a local star for Moeller High School and was selected as the overall No. 1 pick of the 1987 Draft by the Mariners. Although he learned much about the game from his father, Griffey also credited his mother, Birdie, with helping him develop as a youth player.

Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza thank their parents for all of the advice and support they delivered to help them reach the Hall of Fame

"Having a mom who has seen a whole lot of big leaguers play, it was her work," Griffey explained. "She would take me to the games, go to practices and everything like that. The shuttle, as everybody knows, is what moms do. She would be able to relay things to my dad and my dad would say something. She had a way of saying it much differently than my dad would say it. You know how dads can be sometimes. She knew my swing. She knew if I was fielding right and what I needed to do there. At that time, before I started playing, she watched six years of big league baseball and Minor League ball. She was able to say, 'You're doing these things wrong. You're doing these things right.'"

Over the 22-year Major League career that followed, Griffey certainly did a lot of things right.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Seaver thrilled to have Griffey, Piazza in Hall Pitcher happy Junior was one to break vote record, welcomes second player to wear Mets cap By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | January 7th, 2016 + 0 COMMENTS

CINCINNATI -- When the Hall of Fame balloting results were revealed on Wednesday with Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza being in the 2016 class for induction, Tom Seaver lost his place at the top of two heaps at the same time.

Griffey broke Seaver's record for the highest voting percentage. And Seaver is no longer the only player in the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap, as he will now be joined by Piazza.

No problem on either issue, according to Seaver.

"They're good guys, too. Just real good professionals," Seaver said Thursday afternoon while a guest on MLB Network's "High Heat."

In his first year of eligibility, Griffey just missed being a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He was elected on a record 99.32 percent of the ballots with 437 out of 440 votes. It broke Seaver's 1992 record when he received 98.84 percent of the vote.

Holding the record was a point of pride for Seaver. "Of course it did, yes, absolutely," Seaver said. "I was thrilled. There was going to be a time when somebody broke it and rightfully so in Junior. Junior was one hell of a player. Dedicated, etc. He has a great personality. I look forward to seeing him, absolutely in Cooperstown [in July]. He was a great everyday player, a pro's pro."

Now 71, Seaver was a 311-game winner with a 2.86 lifetime ERA over his 20 Major League seasons with the Mets, Reds, White Sox and Red Sox. He was a 12-time All-Star and three-time National League Cy Young Award winner.

Seaver threw his only no-hitter for Cincinnati on June 16, 1978, against the Cardinals. One of his Reds teammates was Griffey's father, Ken Griffey Sr. "I adored Griffey Sr.," Seaver said. "He had a great sense of humor and was a bright guy and stuff. He's got a son that had tremendous talent and he didn't waste it."

During a 22-season career from 1989-2010 -- spent primarily with the Mariners and Reds -- Griffey batted .284/.370/.538, and ranks sixth with 630 home runs.

For the Mets, Seaver was the 1967 NL Rookie of the Year and a centerpiece member of the 1969 World Series champions.

The MLB Tonight crew analyzes the 2016 Hall of Fame class of Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza

And for over two decades, Seaver had the distinction of being the lone member of the Mets to be enshrined in Cooperstown. He was excited to welcome Piazza to the Hall.

"I think it's terrific, wonderful," Seaver said. "Mike was a hell of a player, a great offensive player and it's nice to have him. It's great."

Piazza, who received 83 percent of the vote in his fourth year on the ballot, slugged a record 396 of his 427 career home runs as a catcher. He batted .308/.377/.545 with 1,335 RBIs from 1992-2007 during a career spent with the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres and A's.

Like Griffey, Seaver held no grudge that he wasn't a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame. His name was not checked on only five of 430 ballots.

"Not at all. I went in. They can't kick me out now," Seaver said.

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

Ken Griffey Sr. a 'proud papa' after son elected to Hall of Fame C. Trent Rosecrans, [email protected] 8:16 p.m. EST January 7, 2016

NEW YORK — In fourth grade, Ken Griffey Jr. had his talent show routine down pat.

In it, he imitated all the greats of the Big Red Machine — Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Cesar Geronimo, Joe Morgan, and, yes, his father, Ken Griffey Sr.

Junior remembers bringing down the house with the performance, complete with him in a Reds uniform.

But even more vividly, he remembers the ride home.

“When we got in the car, he said, ‘Don’t ever do that again,” Junior recalled his father saying. “‘You’re my son, you’re not me. Just be yourself.’ I learned that and I was a fourth grader. That’s the one thing when I talk to kids — and my kids — is be yourself. You’re not me.”

Being the son of a big leaguer can be difficult and bring on expectations, something the younger Griffey knew as a son and a father. His oldest, Trey, plays football at Arizona, while his daughter, Taryn, is a basketball player at Arizona. Youngest, Tevin, plays several sports.

But they aren’t expected to live up to their Hall of Fame dad’s exploits, nor was Junior to be a carbon copy of Senior.

Both were left-handed hitting outfielders and both had tremendous speed. But the younger one was different. By12, he was as tall as his dad and a year later he was taller.

“I knew he was going to get stronger and bigger,” Griffey Sr. said on Thursday at the New York Athletic Club following the Hall of Fame press conference. “I just told him to be yourself and you’ll hit more home runs, you’ll drive the ball better.”

Did he ever. Dad hit 152 home runs over his 19-year career in the big leagues. His son hit 630 in his career and had 153 before he turned 25.

“I never thought of him as a Hall of Famer when he was younger,” Griffey Sr. said. “You’ve got to understand, I’m his dad and all we did was play catch in the yard. I threw batting practice to him, I just wanted him to be the best he could be.”

That changed in 1990 when the then-40-year-old Ken Griffey Sr. joined his son in Seattle for the last month of the season. That stretch opened his eyes.

“That’s when it really stuck out to me — this kid has a chance to be in the Hall of Fame,” Senior said. “He was 20 years old. I told him I’m going to cover three square feet in left field and you’ve got the rest. And he covered it. I didn’t have to worry about it.”

The older Griffey played 30 more games in 1991 before retiring. But those 51 games in a Mariners uniform told him all he needed to know about his son and his talents.

Thursday, Griffey Sr. was put on the spot — who is the best he’d ever played with?

“Junior,” Senior said.

“I played with some good ones — Geronimo was outstanding, I played with (Dave) Winfield, (Don) Mattingly, Rose, Bench, Perez — and the guy who is not in the Hall of Fame that I think should be in the Hall of Fame, Davey Concepcion. He should be in the Hall of Fame, I don’t care what anyone says.”

But even with all those guys, Junior is the best?

“Yeah, Ken’s the best player,” Senior said.

Is that an old ballplayer talking or a dad talking?

“To be honest with you, both,” Senior responded. “I’m a proud dad, proud papa, yeah, but I watched him play for that month and he really impressed me as a player. I’d seen Willie Mays play, I played against him. Junior, playing him was something special. But he was something special."

Griffey to wear Mariners cap on Hall of Fame plaque C. Trent Rosecrans, [email protected] 8:42 p.m. EST January 7, 2016

NEW YORK — Not that anyone outside of I-275 expected anything different, but Ken Griffey Jr. will officially wear a Mariners cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Oh, and it’ll be facing forward, so the S will show.

Griffey announced his choice during Thursday’s press conference along with Hall of Fame classmate Mike Piazza at the New York Athletic Club.

“I’m going to go into the weekend with a Seattle Mariners’ hat on,” Griffey noted at the end of his opening statement.

Of Griffey’s 2,671 games, 1,685 came in a Mariners uniform, 417 of his 630 home runs, 1,843 of 2,781 hits were for Seattle, as well as 10 of the 13 All-Star appearances, all 10 Gold Gloves and his MVP.

And, of course, there’s the small fact that he’s currently a Mariners employee, holding the title as a special consultant to the franchise.

“I played 13 years in Seattle, which is more than the other two teams I played for, Chicago and Cincinnati,” Griffey said. “I think I did most of my damage as a Mariner.”

Griffey will be the first player to wear a Mariners cap on his plaque in Cooperstown, New York. Griffey’s former teammate, Randy Johnson, was elected to the Hall last year, but went in wearing a Diamondbacks uniform.

“I think I want to be first in a lot of things, and being able to wear a Mariners hat and be the first Mariner to go into the Hall of Fame, I think that’s also part of the decision I needed to make,” Griffey said. “I felt that the Mariners gave me an opportunity to play the game I love and I spent most of my time in Seattle.”

Of course, for many, Griffey’s famous not for the insignia on his cap, but the direction of it. Griffey’s backwards cap was a fashion statement and pop culture touchstone from when he broke through into the big leagues in 1989, throughout the '90s and even today.

Those in attendance laughed on Thursday when Griffey put on his Hall of Fame cap backwards — albeit briefly — before he noted that Piazza, a catcher, “wore it backwards more than I did.”

And that Mariners cap on his plaque will be worn forward, he noted when asked on Thursday.

As for Piazza, he will wear a Mets cap on his plaque. Piazza played for the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres and Athletics.

Piazza played more games for the Mets than any of the other teams and hit 220 of his career 427 homers for New York, including the dramatic go-ahead home run in the first game played in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“As much as I enjoyed my time (in Los Angeles), I ended up in New York and I feel like the fans welcomed me into their family,” Piazza said. “Every time I’ve been back, I’ve been so incredibly honored from the response and, unfortunately, we do have to choose one, and for me, I’ve always enjoyed reconnecting in New York.”

The induction ceremony will take place July 24 in Cooperstown, New York.

SPORTS ON EARTH TERENCE MOORE January 6, 2016 WATCHING JUNIOR FROM THE BEGINNING

A sports journalist I know (OK, me) had a newspaper article published on July 30, 1978, for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Not only that, it was the first thing ever written about some guy named Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey was 8 years old at the time.

Yes, eight.

Now, 38 years later, I'm a Baseball Hall of Fame voter. When I got my ballot a few weeks ago, I rushed to place my biggest checkmark next to Griffey's name, and I'm still in awe over this whole thing. On Wednesday, it was officially announced that "The Kid" was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with more than 99 percent of the vote (a HOF record).

For one, I'm humbled to know I'm among the few persons ever to pull such a double-double of writing the first story ever about a future Hall of Famer and then actually having a vote later to send him to Cooperstown. For another, I'm still shaking my head over how I witnessed little Griffey flash more than a few signs that he'd transfer his extraordinary skills from his youth baseball team to the Major Leagues someday.

That's right. Everything Griffey did for 22 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, he foreshadowed as a pint-sized megastar on his Mt. Airy D-1 team in Cincinnati's Knothole League. You knew little Griffey would continue to slam a bunch of home runs as big Griffey (630 for sixth on the all-time list). You knew he wouldn't quit hitting for average (seven Silver Slugger Awards along with a .284 lifetime mark). You knew he would keep playing effortlessly on defense (10 Gold Gloves in center field). You also knew he was headed for several trips to the All-Star Game (13), winning a league Most Valuable Player Award (American League in 1997), making something like baseball's All-20th Century Team and entering something like the Halls of Fame of both the Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds.

As for the Hall of Fame, I envisioned baseball immortality for little Griffey, because he remains the greatest player I've seen under the age of 10. He also ranks among the elite of the elite along those lines in the Cincinnati area. In fact, diamonds throughout southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky have produced the significant Major League likes of Pete Rose, Barry Larkin, Jim Bunning, Dave Parker, David Justice, Buddy Bell, Jimmy Wynn, Claude Osteen, Leon Durham, Don Zimmer and others.

None of them was scarier to opponents than little Griffey in the summer of 1978. There also was his younger brother Craig, who turned 7 the month before I saw both of them play. They starred on a Knothole League team for the ages, and the Griffeys' dominance made sense. Their father, Ken Griffey Sr., was the starting right fielder for a baseball dynasty called the Big Red Machine, which won more games in the 1970s than any other franchise. Those Reds also powered their way to consecutive World Series championships, with Hall of Fame players Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, baseball's all-time hits leader in Rose and perennial All-Stars such as George Foster, Dave Concepcion and Ken Sr.

Which is why I almost botched this Griffey story.

There I was that July evening, covering a Reds game at old Riverfront Stadium, and one of the veteran groundskeepers waved me over to the side of the batting cage.

"Got a great idea for you … Ken Griffey," said the groundskeeper, nodding while searching my face for a reaction.

I thought the groundskeeper meant the Reds right fielder who had just spent his first full three seasons in the Major Leagues hitting over .300 and reaching the last two All-Star Games. I started to mention I'd already done something on that Griffey, when the groundskeeper added, "Ken Griffey Jr."

Ken Griffey Jr.? I thought, with raised eyebrows. That kid? The one who joined Pete Rose Jr., and Perez's son, Eduardo, for dashes around the clubhouse as if they were climbing trees in their backyards?

"Yep," said the groundskeeper. "Check him out in a game."

After some doubt, I did. Wow. The only player nearly as impressive as Ken Jr. that day was Craig. The headline on my story in the Enquirer said: "Ken Jr. and Craig Are Griffeys, And Play Like It."

Here were my opening paragraphs:

Ken Griffey is too good. Ken Griffey, Jr., that is.

He's the eight-year-old son of the Cincinnati Reds right fielder, but the name of Junior's game is pitching. He whirls baseballs so fast for his Mt. Airy D-1 team that opposing players approach the plate in tears.

That's if they bat at all.

"Some of them just don't want to face him," said Griffey's coach Duke Hail. "Of course, in D League, kids don't have to bat if they're crying."

Griffey's team finished 12-0 that season, and five of those victories were combined no-hitters featuring You Know Who. (Note: In that league, most batted balls in fair territory are called hits). When Ken Jr. wasn't pitching, he was playing first base, and regardless of his position he hit third or cleanup in the lineup -- you know, just as he would in the Major Leagues. Craig was the team's starting center fielder, and he was the leadoff hitter. As Hail said back then, "[The Griffeys] are good for about five runs a game. We can count on Craig always getting on base, and Kenny hits one out about every game."

Sounds like big Griffey. Then again, according to many during his Knothole days, he actually was big Griffey as a youth. The same tag was applied to Craig, who never reached the Major Leagues after seven seasons in the Minor Leagues during the 1990s. Even so, Craig and Ken Jr. played at such an advanced level as teammates during their 1978 Knothole League days that opposing coaches and parents didn't believe they were actually 7 and 8, respectively. Nasty arguments among grownups became a regular occurrence before, during and after games involving the Griffeys. Ken Sr. was off trying to help the Machine keep rolling, but his wife, Birdie, attended all of her sons' games, and she stayed calm during the majority of the turmoil.

Once, an umpire kicked the opposing coach and his wife off the premises for their loud and animated bickering, and they even demanded to see the birth certificates of the Griffeys.

It didn't happen.

What did happen was a splendid baseball life for Ken Griffey Jr., and I've documented much of it through the decades …

Even from the beginning.