Interview with Griffey

Seattle Mariners center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. sat down with ESPN baseball analyst Joe Morgan and discussed Griffey's health, the best players in the game and his career goals.

Morgan: How's the wrist?

Griffey: It's fine ... got a little stronger in the off-season.

Morgan: Want to give me 80 percent, 90 percent, 100 percent?

Griffey: Well, right now it's about 90-95 percent. I've just got to get stronger. I lost a couple of degrees in flexibility, but that will come back as the year goes on.

Morgan: Are you gonna shy away from the walls ... have you found any difference in the way you play the outfield?

Griffey: No. I mean, it was just a freak accident. I just turned my wrist, I just impacted the wrong way.

Morgan: Tell you what, if I'm Lou Piniella, I tell you to be a little more careful out there.

Griffey: Well, no. I mean it's just the way I play. It wouldn't be me. I wouldn't feel comfortable out there. So it hasn't changed. I'm conscious of it if I dive, or a sliding catch I pick it up right after I catch it.

Morgan: I guess the statement was made: "This is the man who's going to save baseball." Does that put any more pressure on you?

Griffey: No. I mean baseball's in trouble. I mean it's starting to come back now ... last year with the playoffs with New York and us was needed to bring back some fans. So hopefully we'll bring more this year with a 162-game season and create some interest in baseball.

Morgan: Who do you think is the best player in baseball?

Griffey: Barry Bonds. I mean you've got a guy who can run, throw, hit -- hit for power to all fields. He can do so many things to beat you -- stealing bases, hitting the long ball, driving in the game-winning run, can throw guys out on the run -- from any direction at any base -- and that's so important.

I mean you see guys now, they are one dimensional. They come up and just hit, and that was the one thing my dad said, "If you can hit they'll find a position for you."

Morgan: Do you think you get as much satisfaction out of making a great play in the outfield as you do out of hitting a home run?

Griffey: Well, yeah because if I hit a home run I can't do the things I want to do. I can't show the pitcher up. No. 1, I can't show some of the enthusiasm that I have when I do hit a home run. But I can when I make a great catch. I can do some things especially to some guys who I have a friendly rivalry against -- like Kenny Lofton.

Morgan: Describe your best catch.

Griffey: Probably the one I broke my wrist on because everybody asks me how did you hold onto the ball knowing your wrist was broke. And I said well I didn't feel it until they operated on it. As I was driving home I called back and the first question I asked the doctor was "will I ever play again?" And he goes "yeah." And I said "will I be 100 percent" and he goes "yeah." He said that the way I broke it was no big deal.

Morgan: Let's play a little name game. I'm gonna give you some player's names and whatever pops into your mind. Cal Ripken, Jr.?

Griffey: He makes us all look bad. The man plays 13 years-plus every day.

Morgan: Roberto Alomar?

Griffey:The best defensive second baseman I know I've seen.

Morgan: Mo Vaughn?

Griffey: Mo's quite a player. I mean he's big and strong and wears his pants like the early '60s and '70s. And then he does a lot of off-the-field community work. We need more ballplayers to do that.

Morgan: Albert Belle?

Griffey: Albert's got some sort of bad rap. I mean if you talk to him one-on-one, he's a great person. He can do so many things offensively to hurt you.

Morgan: Greg Maddux?

Griffey: Clark Kent (laughs).

Morgan: What about the fans? Do you feel the players owe the fans anything from the strike or should they owe the fans something in general?

Griffey: The best thing we can do is get an agreement. It starts off there. I know our team has gone out of its way to be fan friendly. We're trying. I mean there are certain times we can't do anything and there are certain times we can. And the fans have to understand that.

Morgan: Is making the Hall of Fame one of your goals?

Griffey: No. I just want to be the best player I can be. I mean they've compared me to Willie Mays and Barry Bonds and Frank Thomas ... that's not important. I just want to be the best player Ken Griffey can be -- not what everybody expects me to be. I'm tougher on myself than anybody.

Morgan: If there was one thing you could change ...

Griffey: Nothing.

Griffey Quotes

"As long as I have fun playing, the stats will take care of themselves."
"If I'm compared to Babe Ruth or Willie Mays, that's great. But I'm just going to go out there and be myself."
"Well, my dad taught me that there's three parts. There's hitting, there's defense, and there's
baserunning. And as long as you keep those three separated, you're going to be a good player. I mean, you can't take your defense on the bases, you can't take your hitting to the field, and you can't take your baserunning at the plate. But defense, is number one."
"I remember when I was a kid being called names, including the "n" word. The first time that happened, it really bothered me. But most of the people I dealt with were all white. Most of my close friends were white."
"My dad would have bopped me on the head when I was a kid if I came home bragging about what I did on the field. He only wanted to know what the team did."
"My name is not The Best Player in Baseball. My name is George Kenneth Griffey Jr."
"Can I do Nomo? Uh, no. It's too herky jerky. I'd probably pull a disk."
"The other guys, all they have to do is use their big butts and big python arms to hit homers. Me, I'm the little guy in the group. People always root for the little guy."
"Why should I stretch? Does a cheetah stretch before it chases its prey?"

Record Book

Mariner Season Records
Most Home Runs by two players (96 in 1997 with Jay Bunher)
Most Home Runs by three players (129 in 1996 with Jay Buhner and Alex Rodriquez
Most Home Runs in a season (56 in 1997)
Most Home Runs in the Kingdome (27 in 1997)
Most Home Runs on the road (29 in 1997)
Most Grand Slams (3 in 1991 tied)
Most Consecutive Games hitting a HR (8 between 7/20-28/93)
Most Consecutive Hits (8 between 4/23-26/89)
Most Consecutive Times Reaching Base safely (11 between 4/23-27/89)
Most Intentional Walks (25 in 1993)
Highest Slugging Percentage (%) (.674 in 1994)

Mariner Records for a Single Game
Most Runs (5 on 5/24/96)
Most Consecutive Home Runs (3 5/24/96 tied)
Most Strikeouts (4 9/27/96 tied)

Major League Records Junior Holds
Most Consecutive Games hitting one or more HR's (8 7/20-28/93 tied with Dale Long and Don Mattingly)
Most Home Runs through May (24 in 1997) **Broken by McGwire in 1998**
Most Home Runs through June (32 in 1994) **Broken by McGwire in 1998**
Most Players on a team with 40 or More HR's (2 in 1996 and 1997 with Jay Buhner tied)
Most Players with 30 or More HR's on a team (3 in 1996 and 1997 with Jay Buhner{'96-'97}, Alex
Rodriguez {'96}, and Paul Sorrento {'97} tied)

Career Highs
MOST HITS: 5 Done 2 times; last done 7/2/94 at NY
MOST HOME RUNS: 3 Done 2 times 5/24/96 vs NY and 4/27/97 at Toronto;
2-HR GAMES (not included is 98, 99); Done 27 times, last done 9/22/97 at OAK
MOST RBIs: 6 Done 2 times; last done 5/24/96 vs NY
MOST STOLEN BASES: 2 Done 6 times; last done 8/18/96 at NY
LONGEST HITTING STREAK: 19, Done once; last done 1999
CAREER GRAND SLAMS: 11, last done 5/99