Father & Son : Mariners Are More Than Happy to Help the Griffeys Make Baseball History

Ken Griffey Sr. gave all the credit to his son.

“This all happened because of what Junior has done,” the elder Griffey said Friday night when he and his son made major league history by becoming the first father and son to play for the same team. “I never thought he’d make it to the big leagues as quickly as he did.”

His son not only made it, he’s a star for the Seattle Mariners. But his father, signed Wednesday after being released from the Cincinnati Reds, showed he could help the cause, too.

Before a crowd of 27,166 at the Kingdome, Ken Griffey Sr. batted second and singled with one out in the first inning. His son, batting next, also singled, and both wound up scoring. The ball was taken out of play after each hit.

The Mariners ended up with a 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, and father and son each went one for four.

Jim Lefebvre, the Mariners’ manager, marveled at the thought of Ken Griffey Sr. playing on the same team as his son.

“Here he is a father, a veteran player ending his career,” Lefebvre said, “and the son is a brilliant young talent, just like his father was when he was first starting his career, and they’re both going to be out there together.

“Today is a great day for baseball. It’s a great day for Seattle. It’s a great day for the Mariners.”

And for the Griffeys, the drama didn’t end in the first inning. In the sixth, the elder Griffey threw out Bo Jackson trying to stretch a single into a double. He cleanly fielded the ball off the bullpen wall in left field and threw a strike to second baseman Harold Reynolds.

Griffey Jr. reacted emotionally to his father’s play. He hunched down on his hands and knees in center field and broke into a beaming smile after his dad threw out Jackson. Griffey got a standing ovation. Johnson and other Mariners congratulated Griffey.

For a team that has never finished a season with a .500 record, bringing the Griffeys together has given Seattle fans a reason to smile. Uncharacteristically, they started lining up well before Friday night’s game to see the Griffeys play. Among the fans was Alberta Griffey, who watched her husband and son in the same lineup.

“Every father and son can identify with that,” Lefebvre said while writing out the 60 lineup cards he’s giving away as mementos of the first major league game a father and son had ever played for the same team. One of those lineup cards will go to Cooperstown, others will go to Mariner officials, players and friends.

Some have questioned the Mariners’ motivation for signing the elder Griffey, who is near the end of his career.

“I don’t deny the fact that there is a marketing aspect,” said Woody Woodward, the Mariners’ vice president of baseball operations. “If I told you otherwise, you wouldn’t believe it.

“The fact remains that he’s a veteran player--played in the World Series, was an All-Star, a quality kind of guy to have on a ballclub--and all those things can help a young team like ours.”

Lefebvre unabashedly supported the case for the elder Griffey.

“We really feel that he’s the kind of guy that we need to bring some real leadership and some type of experience,” Lefebvre said.

“If we were to look around in baseball, who was available right now, Ken Griffey Sr. has got to be on top of the list.

“It just happens to be his son on the same team.”

Senior sees all of this as “the pinnacle” in his 18-year career.

Junior has been a bit quieter than usual, except to tease his father.

When told by his father that he needs to put “Jr.” on his jersey, the younger Griffey replied: “No way. You’ve come on my team, which means you get the Sr. behind your name.”

Lefebvre recalled the conversation when he asked Junior, “Would you like to have your dad play with you?”

“Well, I don’t care,” Junior said.

“Well, if you don’t want to,” Lefebvre answered.

“I want to,” Junior said. “Yes. I would like that.”