Mariners Greatest Hits: “The Kid” Center Fielder Ken Griffey Jr

“The Old Time Religion Lives”
After his decade-long hiatus in Cincinnati and Chicago, Griffey returned with much fanfare to the Mariners in 2009. The return was riddled with great moments, including the famous photo of the Mariners literally carrying Griffey off into the sunset (whoops) with his new friend Ichiro Suzuki.
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But the most memorable moment came on June 19th, 2009. Griffey was struggling. 710 ESPN host Mike Salk had called for the benching of Seattle’s favorite son (rightfully so) and the happy reunion was beginning to look like a flop.
In the 8th inning, down 3-1 with a runner on third, Junior was called upon to pinch hit. Griffey was about to send every Mariner fan back to 1995. He uncorked a long home run to tie the game, and the team would go on to win the game.
Allow Dave Niehaus to remind you of your childhood here.
There are millions of memories we could talk about. Griffey hitting homers in 8 straight games. The robbery of Luis Gonzales home run in Detroit. The crashing catch into the centerfield wall in 1995.
Next: The Mariners Greatest Center Fielder
The infinite number of possibilities speak to the impact Junior had in his 11 1/2 seasons. Seattle may not ever see another Ken Griffey Jr. Thankfully, we got to enjoy the one, the only, “The Kid”.