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Mariners History: Ken Griffey Jr Drops A Bomb
By Dan Hughes
This day in Mariners history takes us back to November 2nd, 1999. Ken Griffey Jr had just wrapped up another fantastic season for the Seattle Mariners. A 10th consecutive All-Star appearance, 10th consecutive Gold Glove award, a 4th consecutive Silver Slugger and 7th in the last nine years.
He slashed .285/.384/.576 with an American League leading 48 homers with 134 RBI. He was two homers shy of the 400 career homer mark that year and was named to the MLB All-Century team (one of only a small number of active players to receive the honor) And still, all of this prior to turning 30.
So it probably came as some surprise when on this day 15 years ago, Junior announced that he would like to be traded, preferably to a team closer to Florida so he could be closer to his family.
More from Seattle Mariners History
- Why This 2022 Mariners Team Is Different Than Years Past
- Forgotten Mariners Friday: Outfielder Denard Span
- Forgotten Mariners Friday: First Baseman Bryan LaHair
- Forgotten Mariners Friday: Outfielder James Jones
- What If… The Mariners Didn’t Trade Michael Pineda?
PGA golfer Payne Stewart – who used to live in the same Orlando neighborhood that Griffey lived in – died in a plane crash on October 25th of that year. It appears that this had some influence in his decision, as he wished to be closer to his family and help raise his kids.
It would be another two months before Griffey got his wish and was traded to Cincinnati. But the request was made public knowledge on this fateful day, 15 years ago. Of course, we all know how he dealt with a number of injuries that limited his playing time after the trade. Many have speculated that if he could have stayed healthy, he could have surpassed the 800 career homer mark.
Many Mariners fans have made the suggestion that if he hadn’t left Seattle, he wouldn’t have been hurt. That’s most certainly not true. But in hindsight, Ken Griffey Jr got what he wanted – more time with his family – and can we really blame a guy for that?
Other notable notes from this day:
1974: Speaking of trades, this marks the 40th anniversary of the Atlanta Braves trading Hank Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers to allow the eventual Hall of Famer to retire in the city in which his career started.
2000: Will Clark announced his retirement after a 15-year career.
2005: Former Mariners GM Pat Gillick becomes the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies.