gold star for USAHOF

1. Ken Griffey Jr.

1. Ken Griffey Jr.
  1. General
  2. Awards
  3. Career Stats
  • Born: April 10, 1950 in Donora, PA USA
  • Weight: 190 lbs.
  • Height: 5'11"
  • Bats: L
  • Throws: L
  • Debut: August 25, 1973
  • Final Game: May 31, 1991
  • TSN All-Star - 1976
  • All-Star Game MVP - 1980
  • MVP - 1976
  • MVP - 1980
 
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The son of Ken Griffey Sr., Ken Griffey Jr., was bred for baseball greatness.

Drafted first overall in the 1987 Amateur Draft, Griffey would debut as a teenager in 1989, where he had a sweet rookie year, with 120 Hits and 16 Home Runs.  That was a good start, but that was just the beginning of what would be one of the most exceptional baseball careers of all time.

The 1990s were Ken Griffey Jr's decade.  He played for the Mariners throughout that 10-year period, where he was always named to the All-Star team.  He was a true five-tool player.  "The Kid" hit for average, as shown by his seven .300 Seasons.  He hit for power.  On four occasions, he would lead the American League in Home Runs and would have six 40 dinger seasons.  He had seven 100 RBI seasons, and from 1996 to 1999, he never drove in less than 134 runners.  All of that would gain him seven Silver Sluggers.  He was a smart base-runner and would have 167 Stolen Bases for the team.  Griffey had an excellent outfield arm, and he was a good fielder who would win the Gold Glove 10 times.

His best season was in 1997, where that year he would win the American League MVP with league-leading 125 Runs, 56 Home Runs, 147 Runs Batted In, and a .646 Slugging Percentage.  He would also finish in the top ten in MVP voting six other times, and a case could be made that throughout the 1990s, he was the most popular player in baseball, and if he wasn't, he was close.

While he had a great run in Seattle, he desired to return home to Cincinnati, and a trade was engineered to help facilitate that.  While the Mariners did not get any superstar of his ilk in return, Griffey began to decline after his first year with the Reds.  He would return to his second home of Seattle in 2009 for his final two years before retiring after 2010.

Griffey would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2016, where he received 99.3% of the vote.  We have to wonder what voters who didn’t check his name off felt he was lacking.

You can look at others like Ichiro Suzuki or Edgar Martinez for this top spot, and we did.  However, when it was all said and done, nobody on this team was this great for this long.  As of this writing, Ken Griffey Jr. is the all-time franchise leader in bWAR (70.6) and Home Runs (417), and he owns a Slash Line of .292/.374/.553.

The Mariners inducted Griffey Jr. into their franchise Hall of Fame in 2013 and three years later, the team retired his number 24.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Outfield
  • Acquired: Selected in the 1st Round, 1st Overall of the Amateur Draft 6/2/87.
  • Departed:

    Traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Jake Meyer, Mike Cameron, Antonio Perez and Brett Tomko 2/10/00.

    Acquired (2): Signed as a Free Agent 2/18/09.

    Departed (2): Retired 6/2/10.
  • Games Played: 1685
  • Notable Statistics: 1,113 Runs Scored
    1,843 Hits
    341 Doubles
    30 Triples
    417 Home Runs
    1,216 Runs Batted In
    167 Stolen Bases
    .292/.374/.553 Slash Line
    70.6 bWAR

    15 Playoff Games
    11 Runs Scored
    18 Hits
    2 Doubles
    0 Triples
    6 Home Runs
    11 Runs Batted In
    5 Stolen Bases
    .305/.382/.644 Slash Line
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    MVP (1997)
    The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year (1997)
    All-Star (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999)
    Silver Slugger (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999)
    Gold Glove (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999)
    All-Star Game MVP (1992)
    Highest bWAR for Position Players (1993, 1996 & 1997)
    Highest Offensive bWAR (1993 & 1997)
    Highest Defensive bWAR (1996)
    Highest Slugging Percentage (1997)
    Most Runs Scored (1997)
    Most Total Bases (1993 & 1997)
    Most Home Runs (1994, 1997, 1998 & 1999)
    Most Runs Batted In (1997)
    Most Extra Base Hits (1993 & 1997)
    Most Intentional Walks (1997 & 1999)
    Highest Stolen Base Percentage (1996)
    Highest Power-Speed # (1999)
    Most Total Zone Runs (1996)
    Most Putouts by a Centerfielder (1998)
    Most Assists by a Centerfielder (1991 & 1997)
    Most Putouts by an Outfielder (1998)
    Most Total Zone Runs by a Centerfielder (1995 & 1996)
    Highest Fielding Percentage by a Centerfielder (1992)
    Highest Range Factor per Game by an Outfielder (1996)

More in this category: 2. Edgar Martinez »

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