Mariners Deal Griffey Jr.

On Feb. 10, 2000, the Seattle Mariners deal Ken Griffey Jr. Ken Griffey Jr. spent the first 11 years of his career with the Seattle Mariners. In 2000 the Mariners traded Griffey to the Cincinnati Reds due to Griffey's impending free agency.

The Mariners received four players in return, Mike Cameron, Jake Meyer, Antonio Perez and Brett Tomko.

Griffey would spend nine years in Cincinnati, but only two of those were not marred by injury.

Six times Griffey had topped 40 home runs in Seattle, but he did so only once in Cincinnati.

Greffiey 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.

Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is also tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (8 games, tied with Don Mattingly and Dale Long).

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. 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.

Junior’s career had some stellar moments including playing with his father Ken Griffey Sr. in 1990 and 1991.

Griffey and his father became the first son and father to play on the same team at the same time. In his father's first game as a Mariner, on Aug. 31, 1990, the pair hit back-to-back singles in the first inning and both scored.

On Sep. 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 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.