9001 Montgomery Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45242, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. attended Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati.
College/University
Career
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
755 Hank Aaron Way, Atlanta, GA 30315, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds smiles during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on July 16, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
755 Hank Aaron Way, Atlanta, GA 30315, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds hits a second inning home run against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on July 16, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
755 Hank Aaron Way, Atlanta, GA 30315, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds hits against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on July 17, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
2400 East Capitol St NE, Washington, DC 20003, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium on July 31, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
2400 East Capitol St NE, Washington, DC 20003, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds watches the game against the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium on July 31, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds and Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves on July 16, 2007 in Atlanta.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. during a game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves on July 16, 2007 in Atlanta.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2007
1060 W Addison St, Chicago, IL, United States
A Cincinnati Reds' trainer attends to Ken Griffey, Jr. in the eighth inning after getting injured while fielding a hit by Chicago Cubs' Derrek Lee at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 19, 2007.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox shatters his bat in the third inning against the New York Yankees on September 15, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox hits a RBI single in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees on September 16, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
333 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. hits a double in the second inning of the Chicago White Sox game against the Cleveland Indians at United States Cellular Field on September 28, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
1 Tropicana Dr., St. Petersburg, FL 33705, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox stretches before taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American Leaugue Divisional Series at Tropicana Field on October 2, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
1 Tropicana Dr., St. Petersburg, FL 33705, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox waits in the on-deck circle while taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American Leaugue Divisional Series at Tropicana Field on October 2, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
333 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox greets manager Ozzie Guillen #13 during player introductions against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Three of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
333 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox hits a single in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Three of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
2008
333 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox reacts after he struck out swinging in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Four of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 6, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
333 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox celebrate after they scored on a 2-run double by DeWayne Wise in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Three of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
123–01 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, Queens, New York, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the New York Mets during a Major League Baseball game circa 2001 at Shea Stadium in Queens borough of New York City.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
123–01 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, Queens, New York, United States
Outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the New York Mets during a Major League Baseball game circa 2001 at Shea Stadium in Queens borough of New York City.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
1000 Vin Scully Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats during 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Gallery of Ken Griffey Jr.
115 Federal St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. singles to center during the fourth inning of the Reds' 9-8 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
A Cincinnati Reds' trainer attends to Ken Griffey, Jr. in the eighth inning after getting injured while fielding a hit by Chicago Cubs' Derrek Lee at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 19, 2007.
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox shatters his bat in the third inning against the New York Yankees on September 15, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox hits a RBI single in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees on September 16, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Ken Griffey, Jr. hits a double in the second inning of the Chicago White Sox game against the Cleveland Indians at United States Cellular Field on September 28, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
1 Tropicana Dr., St. Petersburg, FL 33705, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox stretches before taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American Leaugue Divisional Series at Tropicana Field on October 2, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
1 Tropicana Dr., St. Petersburg, FL 33705, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox waits in the on-deck circle while taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American Leaugue Divisional Series at Tropicana Field on October 2, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox greets manager Ozzie Guillen #13 during player introductions against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Three of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox hits a single in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Three of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox reacts after he struck out swinging in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Four of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 6, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Chicago White Sox celebrate after they scored on a 2-run double by DeWayne Wise in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Three of the ALDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at United States Cellular Field on October 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
123–01 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, Queens, New York, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the New York Mets during a Major League Baseball game circa 2001 at Shea Stadium in Queens borough of New York City.
123–01 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, Queens, New York, United States
Outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the New York Mets during a Major League Baseball game circa 2001 at Shea Stadium in Queens borough of New York City.
1000 Vin Scully Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds bats during 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
(Will Smith continues his reign in the fourth fast-paced s...)
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When a 12-year-old boy inherits the Minnesota Twins baseball team from his grandfather, he does what every young baseball fan dreams of - he makes himself the manager!
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Every summer, the most talented baseball players come to Cape Cod, to compete for a spot on one of the Cape's elite baseball teams, a steppingstone for a talented major league.
Ken Griffey, Jr. is an American former professional baseball player who was one of the iconic athletes of the 1990s and ranked among the best power hitters and defensive outfielders of all time.
Background
George Kenneth Griffey, Jr., better known as Ken Griffey, Jr., was born on November 21, 1969, in Donora, Pennsylvania, United States, to Alberta and Ken Griffey, Sr. His father was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds the year Griffey, Jr. was born and the family moved to Cincinnati.
Education
Ken was raised in Cincinnati. The elder Griffey enjoyed a nineteen-year career playing for the Reds, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, and Seattle Mariners. He was a crucial part of the Cincinnati "Big Red Machine" that won consecutive World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Ken Griffey Jr. grew up in that clubhouse, soaking in the atmosphere of professional baseball and success.
Griffey attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, the same school that produced the baseball players Barry Larkin and Buddy Bell. A standout athlete in several sports, Griffey was especially successful playing baseball, setting a school mark (later broken) of eleven home runs in a season.
In 1987 the Seattle Mariners made the seventeen-year-old Griffey the first player selected in the amateur draft and signed him for a $160,000 bonus. He got off to a fast start, hitting .313 with fourteen homers and forty runs batted in (RBI) during his first year in the minors.
Griffey's time in the minors was limited. He started the 1988 season with the Class A San Bernardino, California, team and was promoted to Class AA in Vermont in August. Determined to make the major league roster, Griffey had a phenomenal spring in 1989, hitting .359 while collecting twenty-one RBI. He effectively forced the Mariners to make him a part of the club, and at age nineteen he became the youngest player in the majors that year. When Griffey, Sr. signed a one-year deal with the Mariners, the Griffeys became the first father-son duo to play in the major leagues in the same season. By July 1989 Griffey, Jr., was hitting about .300. He was a front-runner as the Rookie of the Year until he broke his hand. He returned in August but wound up hitting only .181 over the remainder of the year. His season average was .264.
Griffey improved with time. In 1990 he batted .300 with twenty-two home runs and was selected to the American League All-Star team. Matching the accomplishment of his father, in 1992 he was named the All-Star game Most Valuable Player (MVP), hitting three for four with a home run. In 1994 Griffey challenged Roger Maris's record of sixty-one home runs by hitting twenty-two by the end of May. The chase was interrupted in August, when the major league players went on strike and did not return. By the time the season ended he was on a pace to hit fifty-eight home runs.
Griffey became known for his fluid and graceful defense as well as for his hitting. At times, however, his aggressive defensive play had a cost. In 1995 he slammed into a wall and fractured his wrist in fifteen places. The injury required surgery, a metal plate, and screws to stabilize the wrist. After Griffey returned to playing that year, Seattle gathered steam in August and charged from behind to overtake the California Angels from thirteen games back, finishing the year tied for the division title. Seattle won a single-game playoff (9-1) to advance to the divisional championship series. In the 1995 playoffs against the New York Yankees, Griffey tied Reggie Jackson's record of five home runs and six RBI in five playoff games. He also scored the run that sent Seattle to its first-ever American League Championship series, against the Cleveland Indians, who won the series in six games.
Before the 1996 season Griffey was briefly the highest-paid player in baseball, signing a four-year deal worth $34 million. His fan appeal was unmistakable, as that season the twenty-six year old was the top vote-getter in the All-Star balloting and was a serious contender for MVP honors, along with his twenty-one-year-old rookie teammate Alex Rodriguez. Griffey came in fourth in the balloting.
In 1997 Griffey was healthy the entire season and tried again to break Maris's record. By 4 July he had thirty home runs and seemed within striking distance of the record. A slight hamstring injury and a death in the family slowed his pace, but Griffey still hit .304 with fifty-six home runs, his best season since joining the majors.
In 1998, while Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa pursued Maris's record and eventually surpassed it, Griffey had another magnificent season, hitting fifty-six home runs for the second consecutive year with 146 RBI. He was elected to his ninth consecutive All-Star game and again received the most votes of any player.
After the 1999 season Griffey decided he wanted out of Seattle. After playing there for eleven seasons, he turned down the team's offer of a $135 million contract and demanded a trade. He cited a variety of reasons for his decision, including a desire to be closer to his home and family in Orlando, Florida. A number of teams at first appeared in the running for Griffey's services, but eventually the Mariners struck a deal with the Cincinnati Reds, with Bret Tomko, Mike Cameron, and others going to Seattle in return for Griffey.
Griffey signed a nine-year $112.5 million deal with Cincinnati. At the time, the contract was the richest ever in the history of baseball, although Griffey's annual salary was the sport's seventh highest. Fifty-seven percent of the contract was spread out over sixteen years of deferred payments. Cincinnati was counting on Griffey to return the team to the World Series. With such high hopes, Griffey bombed. His time in Cincinnati was marred by injury and ill feelings with teammates who thought he got special treatment. Leg injuries in both the 2001 and 2002 seasons restricted him to 181 games total, and he smacked just 30 homers.
Frustrated with his injuries and slump, Griffey developed an edge. Teammates and media began to characterize him as a whiner and a spoiled brat. By 2002, Griffey's wife, Melissa, quit attending games because fans were abusing her, telling her to return to Seattle and take her husband with her. By December 2002, there was talk he would be traded.
In 2004 Ken became the 20th major league player to hit 500 home runs, and he was named to the National League All-Star team in 2000, 2004, and 2007. In 2008, after hitting his 600th career home run, Griffey joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Sammy Sosa as the only players in major league history to accomplish that feat. Griffey was traded to the Chicago White Sox in July 2008.
He became a free agent for the first time in his career at the end of the 2008 season and he signed with the Mariners again in February 2009. Griffey's return to Seattle was a boon for the Mariners' attendance figures, but his deteriorating on-field play and subsequent lack of playing time led him to abruptly retire from baseball in June 2010. He finished his career with a .284 batting average, 630 home runs, and 1,836 runs batted in.
On February 17, 2011, Griffey was hired by the Mariners as a special consultant. He is involved with the Mariners at spring training and the regular season, along with visiting most of the Mariners minor-league affiliates.
(Will Smith continues his reign in the fourth fast-paced s...)
1994
Religion
Ken Griffey Jr. studied at a Catholic high school.
Politics
On November 18, 2008, Griffey was named an American Public Diplomacy Envoy.
Views
In 2008, Ken Griffey Jr. released a series of charity wines to support The Ken Griffey Jr. Family Foundation. This fund supports several causes, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and several children's hospitals across the United States.
Quotations:
"I don't think it's the intent of baseball not to have black ballplayers, but we have to find a way to get these kids back. We lost them to football. We lost them to basketball. We lost them to golf. People don't see how cool and exciting this game is."
"The NFL and NBA has done a better job than we have in showing the fun side of the sport, having people talk about it whether it's on social media, commercials or the news."
"Nobody wanted to run back kicks until you saw Billy 'White Shoes' Johnson."
"I don't know what my numbers are as a DH, but the fact that you're sitting basically for three hours and 38 minutes of a baseball game, you're hoping you get four or five at-bats."
"I like how in little league they have nine kids who play the field but we have 17 kids on the roster and all 17 kids should hit. I like that we do that down here in Florida."
"I know my Dad's a National League guy. I'm an American League guy. I tell him all the time we got better hitters. He's like well we got better pitchers. I'm like cause you all got those easy outs at the end."
"I think that it takes one person in the household to be a baseball fan for people to love baseball. And if you don't love baseball as a parent, your kids are not going to love it because you're not watching it."
"It doesn't matter how much money you make; it's where you feel happy."
"I'm in a Catch-22. If I don't go after a ball, I'm lazy, I'm not giving it 100 percent. If I do dive for the ball - which I did, and blew out my shoulder - it's, Why did I play it so hard?"
"In baseball, there's certain things you can call someone: a fossil, graybeard, grandpa, dad, pops. But I got a chance to say it and mean it."
"The two misconceptions of me are I didn't work hard, and that everything I made it look easy."
"Just because I made it look easy doesn't mean that it was and you don't work hard and become a Hall of Famer without working day in and day out."
Membership
Ken is an honorary co-chairman of the AOPA Foundation's Hat in the Ring Society.
Personality
Ken has a private pilot certificate and owns a Cirrus SR22.
Physical Characteristics:
In January 1988, Griffey, at the age of 18, attempted to commit suicide by swallowing 277 aspirin pills but wound up in intensive care.
In April 2007, he was diagnosed with pleurisy.
Ken Griffey Jr. is 190 cm (6' 2'') tall and weighs 93 kg (205.03 lbs).
Interests
Sport & Clubs
football
Connections
Ken Griffey Jr. is married to Melissa Griffey. The couple has three children - Ken Griffey III (Trey), daughter Taryn Kennedy, and adopted son Tevin Kendall.
Father:
Ken Griffey Sr.
Mother:
Alberta Griffey
Spouse:
Melissa Griffey
Son:
Ken Griffey III (Trey)
Daughter:
Taryn Kennedy
Son:
Tevin Kendall
References
At the Plate With...Ken Griffey Jr.
Ken Griffey Jr., son of former pro ballplayer Ken Griffey Sr., has baseball in his blood. From his early years hanging out at Yankee Stadium with his father through his high school days as a baseball star, Ken Jr. was destined to bring greatness to whatever team he played for. He fulfilled his destiny by helping shape his former team, the Seattle Mariners, into division champs. In 2000, Griffey took his legendary skills and famous smile to the Cincinnati Reds to try to win a World Series with his hometown team.
1997
Ken Griffey Jr. and Me: A True Story of Extortion, Corruption, and the Destruction of a Life
This is a story that no one ever thought would be told - most of all, Ken Griffey Jr. While "Junior" was in his prime as baseball's best player, hitting prodigious home runs and patrolling centerfield as only Willie Mays had before him, he also was enjoying all the privileges and perks of superstardom. But beneath this storybook facade, Junior Griffey was hiding something: the truth about who he was and how ruthless he was to trade in friends for the rush of getting as much for himself as he could.
2013
Ken Griffey, Jr.: A Biography
The inside story of one of baseball's most visible all-around players profiles a young man who overcame difficult obstacles on his path to a record-breaking career and fame.