1997 AL MVP. 13× All-Star. 10× Gold Glove. 630 career home runs. The Kid. The smoothest swing in baseball history.
Position
Center Fielder
Size
6'3" · 195 lb
Born
Nov 21, 1969 · Donora, Pennsylvania
Drafted
1987 · pick 1
630
Home Runs
1,836
Rbi
2,781
Hits
.284
Batting Average
.907
Ops
Ken Griffey Jr. spent 11 seasons with the Seattle Mariners (1989-99) after going #1 overall in 1987 straight out of Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller High School. Won the 1997 AL MVP, 13 All-Star selections, 10 consecutive Gold Gloves (1990-99), and 630 career home runs (#7 all-time). Returned to his hometown Cincinnati Reds in February 2000; hit his 500th and 600th career home runs as a Red. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016 with 99.3% of the vote — the highest first-ballot percentage at the time. The smoothest left-handed swing in baseball history, widely cited as the player who brought a generation of fans into baseball during the 1990s.
Career
1989-1999
Seattle Mariners
11 seasons in Seattle after going #1 overall in the 1987 MLB Draft straight out of Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller High School. AL MVP in 1997, 10 Gold Gloves, the 1995 ALDS-winning Game 5 dash from first to home (still called The Slide in Mariners history).
2000-2008
Cincinnati Reds
Nine seasons in his hometown after the Mariners traded him in February 2000. Hit his 500th and 600th career home runs as a Red. Battled injuries through most of these years; played 144+ games in only three of the nine seasons.
2008
Chicago White Sox
Brief late-season stint with the White Sox after the Reds traded him in July 2008. Hit 3 home runs in 41 games.
2009-2010
Seattle Mariners (return)
Two final seasons back in Seattle. Retired in June 2010 mid-season at age 40.
Honors & Awards
1997 AL MVP13× MLB All-Star10× Gold Glove Award (consecutive 1990-99)7× Silver Slugger Award1992 All-Star Game MVPBaseball Hall of Fame (2016, 99.3% — highest at the time)Mariners retired #24 (2016, with Griffey present)Reds retired #30 (2014)MLB All-Century Team (1999, youngest player on the list)