Scooter Chapman

You would think The Kid is dead.

Newspapers, television shows, ESPN and others have done tributes to Ken Griffey Jr., the Mariner who left in June to retire in Florida.

Now it's my turn and I'm starting this column in late June. To date, Griffey has not had any press conferences to explain why he suddenly packed up the gear from his spacious locker at Safeco Field, jumped in his vehicle and sped off to retirement.

He did issue a statement that was read and reread by everyone, but the Griffey Jr. smile and sparkle were missing in the retirement announcement. It could've been written by anyone.

I remember when he was signed by then Director of Scouting Roger Jongewaard, the point man for owner George Argyros in June 1987. Griffey was the first pick of the draft. Argyros wanted a pitcher from Cal State.

I was at the Kingdome when he stopped by June 8 for a visit to take batting practice with the Mariners before going to Bellingham. I even got his autograph on a P.A. Little League cap.

He went on to hit 14 homers in 54 games for the Baby Mariners in Bellingham. In 1988, he was with San Bernardino and Vermont, then he was given the center field job by manager Jim Lefebvre in 1989 at age 19, and the rest is history.

He was a great fielder, a super hitter, a long-ball threat every time he came up and a threat to get the key double if needed. He was approachable, he was popular with teammates and fans and became the Mariner All-Star.



After the trade, injuries came

He wanted to leave Seattle to be closer to family and was dealt to Cincinnati for Mike Cameron, Brett Tompko, Antonio Perez and Jake Meyer.

Then came the health problems: torn left hamstring, knee injury, hip injury and more.

He returned to Safeco with the Reds in 2007. I was there with a packed house to welcome back The Kid, and he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection. He hit two homers on June 24 against the Mariners.

The Mariners invited him back last year and he had an average year. His mere presence inspired other players and a clubhouse, which was divided, came together and you can still thrill at the sight of his teammates carrying him around the field after the last game of 2009.

The Mariners took a big gamble this year. Griffey's bat speed was gone, he had a poor spring, but alternate designated hitter Mike Sweeney had a huge spring, hitting .500 against spring training pitchers.

The M's added Milton Bradley to play left field, with Junior and Sweeney to share the designated hitter duties.

It was obvious that wasn't going to be the answer. Sweeney was back for a while, now is back on the disabled list, but he's really only had one good week at the bat and the Mariners are last in team home runs.

Griffey's final at-bats were painful to watch. He was accused of being asleep in the clubhouse by two teammates and that really hurt him. Then his at-bats were taken away and, rather than be told to leave, he decided to retire.

Will he come back as a Mariner coach? A front office man? Not sure. I don't think he wants to be an everyday coach on the field but he would be a great addition to the minor league program.

What youngster wouldn't want one of the game's best hitters and fielder's offering him instruction?

Two things are for sure: Ken Griffey Jr. will go into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Mariner and he will become a hall-of-famer on the first ballot. His only big decision is to decide who gives the speech ahead of his induction.



Columns by KONP 1450 AM sports announcer Scooter Chapman appear weekly in the Sequim Gazette. He can be reached via e-mail at scooter@olypen.com.