On August 31, 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. become the first father and son duo to play on same team. Each Griffey goes 1-4, with back-to-back singles in the first inning for the Seattle Mariners.
Griffey Jr. also known as “The Kid” goes down as one of the best ball players during the 1990’s and was elected to the All-Century team in 1999.
A 13-time All-Star, Griffey was one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the sixth-most in MLB history behind only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and former teammate Alex Rodriguez. Jr. is also tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (8 games, tied with Don Mattingly and Dale Long).
Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field over the course of his career.
Griffey also won seven Silver Slugger Awards, the 1997 American League MVP Award, the 1992 MLB All-Star Game MVP, the 2005 National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. Despite only winning one MVP award Jr. was in the conversation 10 times over the course of his career, being in the top five in voting five times.
He was a three-time Home Run Derby winner, and a four time American League Home Run Champion, and the 1997 American League RBI Champion.
Griffey Jr. would finish his career with a .284 average, 2,781 hits consisting of 524 doubles, 38 triples and 630 home runs. He would also have 1,836 RBIs, 1,662 runs scored, 1,312 walks, 184 stolen bases. He struck out 1,779 times.
Four times Griffey Jr. led the league in home runs with his highest single season total coming in 1997 and 1998 when he hit 56 home runs each season.
Junior’s career had some stellar moments including playing with his father Ken Griffey Sr. in 1990 and 1991.
On September 14, the pair hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first off California Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill, becoming the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs. The duo played a total of 51 games together before Griffey Sr. retired in June 1991.
Griffey Jr. is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League games in four different calendar decades.
On Jan. 22, 2013, the Mariners announced Griffey would be the seventh person inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.
Griffey Jr. will most likely be a first ballot Hall of Famer into Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame as he was one of the few athletes during the 1990’s and 2000’s to not be associated with steroids or performance enhancing drug use.
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