Ken Griffey Jr. was one of the best to ever play the game of baseball, which is why a plaque of him sits in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
And he couldn't be happier that it didn't come in a Yankees jersey.
MLB Network's documentary "Junior," which is all about Griffey, aired on Sunday night and there was a clip in it that explained why he grew up hating the pinstripes.
It was one day at Yankee Stadium when a young Griffey was with his father, Ken Griffey Sr., in the home dugout -- the elder Griffey spent five seasons with New York. But a Yankee Stadium staffer came over to say that George Steinbrenner, the Yankees owner, "didn't want anybody in the dugout."
Griffey Sr. would comply despite not understanding at all what the issue was. However, as he told his son to go sit in his locker, he said to look over at third base.
Wow, Ken Griffey Jr. had a really damn good reason to never play for the Yankees.
- Roger Cormier (@yayroger) June 22, 2020
"Look at third base." pic.twitter.com/2v7DoBYyYC
"It's Graig Nettles' son taking groundballs at third base," Griffey said.
So when Griffey made it into the league himself, he wanted so badly to beat the Yankees whenever they were on the schedule. There was even a clip before his first playoff bout in the Bronx where Griffey said he wouldn't play for the Yankees if it was the only contract that was offered to him.
"If they were the only team that gave me a contract, I'd retire," Griffey said to the crowd of Yankee fans. "You don't believe me? You don't know me."
Griffey would belt two homers that night in Game 1 of the ALDS and another in Game 2. Overall, the Mariners would defeat the Yankees in a decisive Game 5 that went to 11 innings. Griffey would hit .391 that series with five homers and seven RBI.
Griffey Sr. would hit .285 over 551 games with the Yankees in his career. Using that smooth left-handed swing, Griffey Jr. would go on to hit .311/.392/.595 against the Yankees in 133 games over his own career, with 36 of his 630 career round-trippers coming against them.
So you can say Griffey Jr. did himself -- and his father -- proud with those results.
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