History behind Griffey's stare into the dugout
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Bill Krueger had one thought when he heard about former Seattle teammate Ken Griffey Jr.'s incident with the Florida Marlins on Tuesday, in which Griffey stared into the Marlins' dugout toward manager Jack McKeon after hitting a three-run home run.
"If Ken's not feeling good about himself, he's not doing that," Krueger said. "Ken has started to feel good, his body feels good, he's locked in; otherwise, he's not doing that."
Griffey, ostensibly, was upset at McKeon because he had intentionally walked Sean Casey to get to Griffey — the fourth time in nine games on the homestand Casey was walked intentionally to pitch to Griffey.
But there was a story behind the story, just as there was in a similar incident in 1993 that some Mariners fans might remember — and that Krueger was right in the middle of.
Krueger was pitching that year for the Tigers, whose manager, Sparky Anderson, had a steadfast rule not to let Griffey beat him. In a series in late May at the Kingdome, Anderson typically had walked Griffey six of 16 times.
But in the ninth inning of a game on May 30 — 11 years ago today — Anderson had Krueger pitch to Griffey, and he hit a three-run home run. As he crossed the plate, Griffey yelled an obscenity and gestured to Anderson, appearing to grab his crotch.
The story behind the story is that Ken Griffey Sr., then a Mariners coach, had a long-time grudge against Anderson, his former manager on the Big Red Machine. That became evident the next time the two teams met, when Detroit pitcher John Doherty retaliated for Griffey's actions by throwing several obvious brushback pitches.
After the game, a seething Griffey Sr. told The Seattle Times, "Sparky wanted to get revenge. He has always been a vindictive (bleep). I played for him for six years, so I know."
Said Krueger: "(Griffey Jr.) had a problem with Sparky, because Ken Sr. had a problem with Sparky. It was not just Sparky dodging him. It was deep-seated resentment."
The back story this time is innuendo that McKeon and Griffey Jr. don't get along, dating to 2000, when McKeon managed Griffey his first year in Cincinnati. Some have even speculated that Griffey had McKeon fired, which he strongly denied, just as McKeon denied having issues with Griffey.