Ken Griffey Jr. cites ‘discrimination’ to justify his anti-Yankees attitude
- June 25, 2023
- 10:26 am
- 2 Comments
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Follow UsThirteen-time All-Star and Hall of Fame member Ken Griffey Jr. never approved of any attempt to make him join the New York Yankees during his MLB career though his father was a Yankee. The former Mariners’ and Reds’ great has alleged that discriminatory behavior in the Yankees dugout toward him was the reason he kept himself distanced from the most successful baseball team.
According to the documentary “Junior,” Ken Griffey mentioned that he declined an opportunity to join the Yankees due to the feeling of being discriminated against when he was a kid.
The discriminatory incident involving Ken Griffey Jr.
As mentioned in the documentary, Ken Griffey once visited the Yankees dugout while his father was playing for them. Ken Griffey Sr. was in the Yankees team from 1982 to 1986. Upon seeing him, a security guard informed the young boy that George Steinbrenner had a policy of not allowing anyone in the dugout.
According to Ken Griffey Jr.’s statement in the documentary “Junior,” he decided not to sign with the New York Yankees during his MLB career because he believed that the team had treated him unfairly based on his race when he was younger.
Ken Griffey Jr shared that the security guard approached him and his father and informed them that they had to leave because “George [Steinbrenner] doesn’t want anyone in the dugout.” He told that his father advised him to go back to the locker room.
According to Ken Griffey’s account, he noticed that as he was leaving, the son of Yankees’ third baseman Graig Nettles, who happened to be white, was present on the field. He was practicing ground balls at third base.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Nettles, who played third base for the Yankees, were teammates in 1982 and 1983.
The documentary
The documentary showcased Ken Griffey Jr. signing autographs prior to the Seattle Mariners’ 1995 American League Division Series against the Yankees. When a fan suggested he should join the Yankees, he responded by saying that if the Yankees were the last team and the only one offering him a contract, he would choose to retire.
During that series, Ken Griffey achieved a batting average of.391, hit five home runs, accumulated seven RBIs, recorded a 1.488 OPS, and ultimately scored the decisive run that led to the series victory.
He shared in the documentary that during that time, his father, who was 38 years old, expressed his resignation, stating that he didn’t want to continue the fight and preferred to give an opportunity to someone younger and more talented.
A report by Mark Fischer of the New York Post stated that the Yankees made an attempt to acquire Ken Griffey in 2003 but were unsuccessful in securing the trade.
When asked about his favorite memory of the old Yankee Stadium in 2008, he responded by saying that his favorite memory was leaving the stadium.
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