Griffey’s Broken Wrist Nothing to Cheer

Ken Griffey Jr., the best player in the history of the Seattle Mariners, won’t be making any magical plays in the field or getting any clutch hits for at least three months.

He will spend much of that time in the trainer’s room, rehabilitating a broken left wrist he suffered in Friday night’s 8-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Left fielder Darren Bragg was the closest player to Griffey when he ran into the outfield wall after making a spectacular leaping catch of a long drive by Kevin Bass in the seventh inning.

“Now everybody on the team is going to have to pick it up a notch,” Bragg said.

Other than rehabilitation, the only activities team doctors will authorize Griffey to participate in at the ballpark are watching and cheering--but definitely not clapping.

“I’ll just cheer the guys on as much as possible,” Griffey said. “I’ll cheer from the bench if they’ll have me.”

Griffey, a five-time all-star and a five-time Gold Glove-winning center fielder at 25, underwent two hours of surgery Saturday morning to have a metal plate and five screws attached to his left wrist.

The surgery was done by hand specialist Ed Almquist and team physician Larry Pedegana.

“The procedure went very smooth and we expect a complete and full recovery,” Pedegana said in a statement. “There were no surprises or complications. I still expect Ken to miss approximately three months of the season.”

The Mariners put Griffey on the 15-day disabled list and recalled outfielder Marc Newfield from triple-A Tacoma.

“When you lose a player the caliber of Junior, it’s not easy,” Manager Lou Piniella said. “We don’t underestimate that. But at the same time, it can be done and we can’t sit around and lament the fact.”

Friday night’s victory gave the Mariners their best start in franchise history, 15-12.

“We’re playing well as a team,” Piniella said. “There is a confidence in the clubhouse.”