Ken Griffey Jr. debuted in 1989 vs. the A s; now he s headed to Cooperstown this summer.
It was no surprise that Ken Griffey Jr. threw out the first pitch before Seattle s home opener against the A s Friday night.
Griffey, after all, is the quintessential Mariner and in January was voted into the Hall of Fame by the baseball writers, and he ll be formally inducted this summer in Cooperstown.
It was just coincidence that the A s were in town, but it was against Oakland, in the coliseum, that Griffey had his first Major League opening day back on April 3, 1989.
His first at-bat was against Dave Stewart, at that point in the middle of four consecutive 20-win seasons for Oakland. Griffey crushed a double in his first at-bat.
Being a kid who played baseball all his life, being on the big stage wasn t that big because I d seen it all before, Griffey said. His father, Ken Griffey Sr., had played for the Reds and the Yankees and would eventually wind up playing on the Mariners with Junior. So Griffey Jr. was no stranger to big moments. He d been up close for World Series wins, for opening days and for All-Star Games.
When his dad was playing in New York, Junior used to warm up for games across the street from Yankee Stadium by playing pickup basketball with several of the Yankees, including Rickey Henderson. Curiously, the courts they played on aren t there any more, as that land has been incorporated into the New Yankee stadium.
So that helped me prepare for certain moments – first at-bat, first game, he said. I think I was probably more nervous about playing with my dad than anything.
Griffey said he had a game plan for the first pitch. He would throw it from in front of the mound under the rationale that he wouldn t want a pitcher messing up his spot in the batter s box.
Before the first pitch, which he threw to former Mariners teammate Felix Hernandez, the Mariners revealed a Countdown to Cooperstown sign in right-center in Safeco Field. As of Friday, there are 107 days before Griffey s induction.
NOTES
–Josh Reddick was in the lineup Friday night, but as the DH as he got a day off from right field because of some tightness in his back. Manager Bob Melvin said Reddick had felt it some Thursday, then it returned later that night on the plane flight from Oakland to Seattle. It s not considered serious.
–To get Eric Surkamp on the roster and eligible to start Friday s game, the A s needed to make two moves. First, they sent outfielder Andrew Lambo to Triple-A Nashville. And then they moved R.J. Alvarez, the right-handed reliever who is coming off elbow surgery, to the 60-day disabled list.
–Disabled infielder Eric Sogard is spending the weekend in Stockton, working out with the A s California League club. He is scheduled to take some swings against another member of the disabled list, starter Henderson Alvarez, Sunday.
–Dave Henderson, the longtime A s outfielder who died in the offseason, was remembered in pregame ceremonies by the Mariners. He was Seattle s first-ever draft pick in 1977, came up with the Mariners, and lived in the Seattle area throughout his baseball and post-baseball career.
–Mariners broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith points out that Friday s A s starter, Surkamp, is a former college teammates of Saturday s Seattle starter Nathan Karns at North Carolina State. Karns said Surkamp taught him the spike curveball grip he uses.
