Junior Achievement -- A Look At Ken Griffey Jr's Baseball Career

A LOOK AT KEN GRIFFEY JR'S BASEBALL CAREER.

Bats - Left. Throws - Left. Height - 6-foot-3. Weight - 205 pounds. Contract status - Signed through 2000. Acquired - Mariners' first-round selection (first player overall) in the 1987 June draft; signed by Mariners scout Tom Mooney. Full name - George Kenneth Griffey Jr. Residence - Orlando, Fla. Family - Wife Melissa, son Trey (1-19-94) and daughter Taryn Kennedy (10-21-95). High school - Graduated from Moeller High School in Cincinnati in 1987. Played four years of baseball, three years of football.

Off the field -- In 1989, a Ken Griffey Jr. Chocolate Bar was introduced and sold more than 1 million bars. -- Toured Japan with a group of major league all-stars twice; was MVP in 1990 and also participated in 1992. -- Following the 1993 season, took part in the movie "Little Big League." -- Received 1994 Celebrity Recognition Award from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the A. Bartlett Giamatti Award from the Baseball Assistance Team (BAT) in recognition of his "caring for fellow citizens." -- Has sponsored Christmas dinners for 350 youngsters from the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club every December since 1994. -- Selected as Mariners' Roberto Clemente Award winner for outstanding community service in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

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BY THE NUMBERS

0 - Oscar nominations for his work in 1993's "Little Big League."

1 - Mariners' position in 1987 draft. Owner George Argyros wanted to take Cal State Fullerton pitcher Mike Harkey, but was talked into drafting a high school outfielder named Griffey.

4 - Wrist or hand injuries that have put Griffey on the disabled list, most recently in 1996 (broken hamate bone in right wrist).

5 - Home runs against the Yankees in the 1995 AL Division Series.

8 - Home runs in consecutive games, a major-league record set July 20-28, 1993.

10 - Times voted to the AL All-Star team. In 1994, Griffey received a record 6 million-plus votes, the first of four times he led all major leaguers in voting. He was the All-Star MVP in '92, won the home run contests in '94 and '98.

12 - Grand slams.

29 - Age. Griffey was born Nov. 21, 1969, in Donora, Pa.

56 - Home runs hit in '97 and '98. Griffey hit 48 homers in '99, leading the AL for the third year in a row.

$180 - Value of his '89 Upper Deck rookie card.

.299 - Career batting average.

398 - Career home runs.

.435 - Batting average in All-Star games. Second among all players with at least 20 at-bats.

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YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS.

1987. Taken by the Mariners with the first pick in the June draft. Hit .313 for Everett, led team in average, home runs, RBI. Named all-league outfielder, and voted No. 1 prospect in Northwest League by Baseball America. 1988. Split the season between San Bernardino and Vermont. Named top prospect in the California League, named to league's all-star team. Promoted to Vermont in August, hit .444 in playoffs. 1989. Made team after hitting .359 in spring training. Hit a double off Dave Stewart in first major league at-bat. Hit a home run on the first pitch he saw at Kingdome. Youngest player in majors at 19. With father, Ken Sr., became first father-son combination to play in the Major Leagues simultaneously. (Ken Griffey Sr. played for Cincinnati.) 1990. Led Mariners in home runs and RBI. Marked the first time a father-son combination played in the same lineup. Became first Mariner to start the All-Star Game. Earned his first Gold Glove Award. 1991. Leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game. Hit his first grand slam July 23 at New York. Became the 12th-youngest player to reach 100 RBI in a season Sept. 30. 1992. MVP in the All-Star Game. Joined with father to become first father-son combination to hit a home run in same game. 1993. Hit 45 home runs. American League leader in total bases and extra-base hits. Major league leader in road home runs. Top AL vote-getter for All-Star Game. 1994. Earned first Mariner American League home-run crown with 40. Leading vote-getter in All-Star Game. Finished second in AL MVP voting. 1995. Fractured both bones in his left wrist May 26 and did not return until Aug. 15. Selected to sixth straight All-Star Game. Won sixth Gold Glove Award. 1996. Hit 200th career home run May 21 to become seventh-youngest player in history to reach that milestone. Elected to seventh straight All-Star Game. Hit a home run against every AL club but Texas. 1997. Unanimous AL Most Valuable Player. Hit 56 home runs. Led the Major Leagues in RBI with 147. Led the American League in runs. Posted his fifth 100-plus RBI season and fourth 40-plus home run year. Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News. 1998. Hit 56 home runs. Became fastest player in history to reach 350 home runs. Had 146 RBI. Led Majors in homers off left-handed pitchers (21), road homers (26) and interleague homers (10). 1999. Hit 48 home runs, becoming one of only seven players in major-league history to hit 40 or more home runs in four straight seasons. Voted to 10th consecutive All-Star Game.

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Career stats

Year Club Avg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0 SB 1987 Bellingham .313 54 182 43 57 9 1 14 40 44 42 13 1988 San Bernardino .338 58 219 50 74 13 3 11 42 34 39 32

Vermont .279 17 61 10 17 5 1 2 10 5 12 4 1989 SEATTLE .264 127 455 61 120 23 0 16 61 44 83 16 1990 SEATTLE .300 155 597 91 179 28 7 22 80 63 81 16 1991 SEATTLE .327 154 548 76 179 42 1 22 100 71 82 18 1992 SEATTLE .308 142 565 83 174 39 4 27 103 44 67 10 1993 SEATTLE .309 156 582 113 180 38 3 45 109 96 91 17 1994 SEATTLE .323 111 433 94 140 24 4 40 90 56 73 11 1995 SEATTLE .258 72 260 52 67 7 0 17 42 52 53 4

Tacoma .000 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1996 SEATTLE .303 140 545 125 165 26 2 49 140 78 104 16 1997 SEATTLE .304 157 608 125 185 34 3 56 147 76 121 15 1998 SEATTLE .284 161 633 120 180 33 3 56 146 76 121 20 1999 SEATTLE .285 160 606 123 73 26 3 48 134 91 108 24 Totals .290 1535 5832 1063 1742 320 30 398 1152 747 984 167

. Division series . Year Opponent Avg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0 SB . 1995 NY Yankees .391 5 23 9 9 0 0 5 7 2 4 1 . 1997 Baltimore .133 4 15 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 3 2 . Totals, 2 year .289 9 38 9 11 0 0 5 9 3 7 3 .

. League championship series . Year Opponent Avg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0 SB . 1995 Cleveland .333 6 21 2 7 2 0 1 2 4 4 2 .

. All-Star Game . Year Site Avg. G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0 SB . 1990 Chicago .000 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 . 1991 Toronto .667 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 1992 San Diego 1.000 1 3 2 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 . 1993 Baltimore .333 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 . 1994 Pittsburgh .667 1 3 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 . 1997 Cleveland .000 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 . 1998 Denver .667 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 . 1999 Boston .000 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .

Totals .435 8 23 4 10 2 0 1 5 2 4 1 .

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HIT BREAKDOWN .

AVG AB H HR RBI .

At Home .308 2824 870 212 601 .

Away .290 3008 872 186 551 .

Pre-ASG .304 3162 960 228 612 .

Post-ASG .293 2670 782 170 540 .

VS. RHP .302 4003 1207 279 799 .

VS. LHP .293 1829 535 119 353 .

In April .301 880 265 69 187 .

May .312 1105 345 85 212 .

June .284 900 256 61 165 .

July .328 937 307 57 192 .

August .298 991 295 65 186 .

Sept/Oct .270 1019 275 61 210 .

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VS. OPPONENTS .

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AVG AB H HR RBI .

Anaheim .275 415 114 27 81 .

Baltimore .312 459 143 28 104 .

Boston .314 477 150 28 88 .

Chicago .276 413 114 27 71 .

Cleveland .303 409 124 26 72 .

Detroit .269 443 119 29 87 .

Kansas City .295 454 134 29 80 .

Minnesota .299 468 140 37 107 .

New York .311 447 139 32 92 .

Oakland .287 418 120 28 71 .

Tampa Bay .270 89 24 7 12 .

Texas .315 444 140 30 101 .

Toronto .317 385 122 34 75 .

Arizona .273 22 6 3 4 .

Colorado .429 42 18 6 18 .

Los Angeles .211 38 8 5 7 .

Milwaukee .317 319 101 17 67 .

San Diego .320 50 16 4 11 .

San Francisco .250 40 10 1 4 .

. TRANSACTIONS .

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# Selected by Seattle in first round (first player selected) of June, 1987 draft.

# On disabled list June 9-August 15, 1988 with strained lower back.

# On disabled list July 24-August 20, 1989 with fractured little finger .

on right hand.

# On disabled list June 9-25, 1992 with sprained right wrist.

# On disabled list May 27-August 15, 1995 with fractured left wrist .

(included rehabilitation assignment to Tacoma August 13).

# On disabled list June 20-July 13, 1996 with broken hamate bone in right wrist.

. CAREER HIGHS .

.

# MOST HITS: 5 - 2 times; last done 7/2/94 at NY .

# MOST HOME RUNS: 3 - twice; 5/24/96 vs NY & 4/25/97 @BALT has 33 2-HR .

games; last done 9/22/98 vs OAK .

# MOST RBIs: 6 - 3 times; last done 9/7/98 vs BAL .

# MOST STOLEN BASES: 3 - 7/26/98 at BAL .

# LONGEST HITTING STREAK: 12 - 4 times; last done 6/13-25/93 .

# CAREER GRAND SLAMS: 10 - last done 9/7/98 vs BAL .