With his signature smile brightening an already sun-drenched summer day, Ken Griffey Jr. became the first player to represent the Mariners in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was the 1993 National League Rookie of the Year, a 12-time All-Star and won the NL Silver Slugger Award 10 straight years from 1993 to 2002. He could not follow that dream as the realities of life and having to support his family forced him to work. Piazza discussed what it was like playing in that game and hitting that home run.
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Of course, many of you might remember that lone highlight to the 1998 season, the five games that Mike Piazza suited up in teal after being shipped to South Florida in exchange for roughly half of the 1997 World Championship squad.
“I wanted to share the moment with them”, Griffey said.
“Just because I made it easy doesn’t mean that it was”. There are so many great things that I could talk about, but we’d be here all day.
And then he reached under the podium for a baseball hat, put it on backward, and said thank you.
Griffey removed the cap when he and Hall of Fame classmate Mike Piazza posed for pictures with Jane Forbes Clark, the Hall of Fame chairman. He ended up hitting 40 home runs in what was his best season in Cincinnati, but that was his lowest total since 1995 and the team slumped to 85 wins. “Now is the time to smell the roses”. On September 21, 2001, just ten days after the worst days in NY, and United States, history Piazza reminded us through a simple two-run home-run of nationalism, normalcy, and the importance of coming together.
Early in his career he famously wore his Mariners cap backwards around the clubhouse and during batting practice.
The 2017 Hall of Fame ballot will bring back Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Trevor Hoffman, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Lee Smith, Fred McGriff, Jeff Kent, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, and Sammy Sosa. The two were part of the Seattle Mariners, who drafted Ortiz, briefly, but it was enough time for Griffey to get a good look at the future Red Sox star. Piazza also played for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics. One day sitting there on the couch, you took a bat and hit the TV, and your mom got mad at you and then got mad at me, and asked me why I was not mad.
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It was a privilege to watch Junior and his awesome career and we will likely never see a hitter with his natural ability and charisma for a long time, if ever.
