yankoholics anonymous
03-08-00, 04:35 PM
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March 8, 2000
Griffeys: The Child Is Father to the Man
By MURRAY CHASS
http://www.nytimes.com/images/b.gif RADENTON, Fla., March 7 -- The obviously close relationship between Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. had its origin in the relationship between Senior and his father. Actually, there was no relationship, which is why there is such a strong bond between the coach and the player in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse.
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http://graphics.nytimes.com/library/sports/baseball/030800bbn-griffeys.1.jpg
"I was going to make sure he knew who his dad was," Ken Griffey Sr., right, said of his relationship with his son, the star outfielder.
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"I was going to make sure he knew who his dad was," Senior said.
The baseball Griffeys are together again. They were the first father-and-son teammates in 1990 and '91, and they were coach and player in '93, both in Seattle. Now they are coach and player in Cincinnati, their reunion courtesy of the trade the Mariners didn't want to make.
Senior never had a chance to play with or associate with his father in baseball. Joe Griffey played baseball, apparently well enough to attract the attention of a scout, but the scout saw too much of him.
"The only two players scouts came to see in Donora, Pa.," Senior said, "were Stan Musial and my father. But when the scout got there and saw my father was black, he left."
Joe Griffey left, too. Ken, one of his three sons, was 2 when his father bolted the family. He didn't see him again until he was 9, then not again until he was 25, Senior said.
"The first 17 years of my life I spent on welfare," he said, sitting in the visiting dugout at McKechnie Field before an exhibition game with Pittsburgh. Junior was standing out at shortstop during the waning swings of batting practice, the bill of his cap facing the outfield.
Joe Griffey's son and grandson do not have to worry about welfare. Senior was traded to the Yankees in 1981, just before he could have become a free agent, and signed a six-year contract worth $6.25 million, a hefty package at the time. Junior was traded to the Reds last month because he would have been a free agent next November, and he signed a nine-year contract worth $116.5 million.
Father and son are closer in age than most players and their fathers because Ken became a Senior when he was only 19 years old. At times, then, the Griffeys seem to be more like friends than father and son. One of those times isn't when they go out for dinner together.
"He takes me to dinner," Junior said. "He pays." Why is that? "He's the provider."
But, he was asked, doesn't the time come when the provider becomes provided for? "He hasn't reached that point," Junior said. "He ain't 50." And when will Senior be 50? "In April," Junior said and then laughed, demonstrating his ability to react as if he were much younger than his 30 years.
The Mariners traded Junior to the Reds because that was the team he said he wanted to go to, and he had the collective bargaining right to enforce his position. Senior said he had been confident that Junior would be traded to the Reds. "I knew he wanted to come here," Senior said. "He was going to be happier here than anywhere else."
One popular view was that Junior wanted to go to Cincinnati, where he grew up while his father was playing for the Reds, and where one day soon he could play for his father.
That view has helped fuel speculation that Senior is the Reds' manager-in-waiting. The Griffeys scoff at the idea.
"That's you guys talking about it, not us," Junior said, meaning reporters. "He has had other job offers. He could have been somewhere else, but they didn't work out. With the contract I signed here and the contract Seattle offered me, do you think if he was somewhere else he would say come here for me? He wouldn't do it. It was all my decision to come here. It had nothing to do with him as far as him getting a manager's job. For people to think anything else is not right. They don't know our family. Even if he wasn't here, it still would have been one of the places where I wanted to play."
Then he added: "If I wanted to force the issue, I could have made him a coach in Seattle. But I didn't. That's just the way it is. We're two separate people."
Senior was asked if he ever thought he would manage Junior.
"I don't know," he said. "I can't force-feed the future. I mean, I'd like to. We'll just wait and see. But at this point Jack McKeon is the manager. That's who's going to be managing this club."
In recent years, fathers have not had much success with their sons on their teams. When Hal McRae managed the Kansas City Royals, his son Brian was his center fielder, and they had a rugged relationship. When Dale Berra joined his father, Yogi, who was managing the Yankees, they looked forward to a fun-filled professional relationship. But Yogi was fired 16 games into the season. Cal Ripken Sr. and Jr. had a similarly distasteful experience that resulted in Senior's dismissal as manager of the Baltimore Orioles.
For now, the elder Griffey will scrutinize his son from the vantage point of hitting coach. Based on Junior's first 11 seasons in the major leagues, Senior won't have much coaching to do. Junior took his 398 home runs to the Reds, including 160 in the last three seasons, and a .299 batting average built on seven .300 seasons. Junior has been singled out generally as the player with the best chance to break Hank Aaron's career record of 755 home runs.
"He's not thinking that way right now," Senior said. "The only thing he's got on his mind is that ring. That's the only thing he thinks about. That one ring. He says if he gets one, I can't rub it in on him."
Senior's World Series rings, from 1975 and '76, don't give him immunity from Junior's taunts.
"He gets on me all the time," Senior said. "He says all sorts of stuff. But I get the last laugh. After every workout they have to run."
Senior, who supervises the running around the bases, laughed an evil laugh. "He was a little upset at me the other day because I ran him," Senior said. "They had to run two triples instead of one. He said, 'I'm going to tell my grandmother.' "
_____________________________________________
Y.A
http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/1banbaseball.gif
March 8, 2000
Griffeys: The Child Is Father to the Man
By MURRAY CHASS
http://www.nytimes.com/images/b.gif RADENTON, Fla., March 7 -- The obviously close relationship between Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. had its origin in the relationship between Senior and his father. Actually, there was no relationship, which is why there is such a strong bond between the coach and the player in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse.
--------------------------------------------
http://graphics.nytimes.com/library/sports/baseball/030800bbn-griffeys.1.jpg
"I was going to make sure he knew who his dad was," Ken Griffey Sr., right, said of his relationship with his son, the star outfielder.
---------------------------------------------
"I was going to make sure he knew who his dad was," Senior said.
The baseball Griffeys are together again. They were the first father-and-son teammates in 1990 and '91, and they were coach and player in '93, both in Seattle. Now they are coach and player in Cincinnati, their reunion courtesy of the trade the Mariners didn't want to make.
Senior never had a chance to play with or associate with his father in baseball. Joe Griffey played baseball, apparently well enough to attract the attention of a scout, but the scout saw too much of him.
"The only two players scouts came to see in Donora, Pa.," Senior said, "were Stan Musial and my father. But when the scout got there and saw my father was black, he left."
Joe Griffey left, too. Ken, one of his three sons, was 2 when his father bolted the family. He didn't see him again until he was 9, then not again until he was 25, Senior said.
"The first 17 years of my life I spent on welfare," he said, sitting in the visiting dugout at McKechnie Field before an exhibition game with Pittsburgh. Junior was standing out at shortstop during the waning swings of batting practice, the bill of his cap facing the outfield.
Joe Griffey's son and grandson do not have to worry about welfare. Senior was traded to the Yankees in 1981, just before he could have become a free agent, and signed a six-year contract worth $6.25 million, a hefty package at the time. Junior was traded to the Reds last month because he would have been a free agent next November, and he signed a nine-year contract worth $116.5 million.
Father and son are closer in age than most players and their fathers because Ken became a Senior when he was only 19 years old. At times, then, the Griffeys seem to be more like friends than father and son. One of those times isn't when they go out for dinner together.
"He takes me to dinner," Junior said. "He pays." Why is that? "He's the provider."
But, he was asked, doesn't the time come when the provider becomes provided for? "He hasn't reached that point," Junior said. "He ain't 50." And when will Senior be 50? "In April," Junior said and then laughed, demonstrating his ability to react as if he were much younger than his 30 years.
The Mariners traded Junior to the Reds because that was the team he said he wanted to go to, and he had the collective bargaining right to enforce his position. Senior said he had been confident that Junior would be traded to the Reds. "I knew he wanted to come here," Senior said. "He was going to be happier here than anywhere else."
One popular view was that Junior wanted to go to Cincinnati, where he grew up while his father was playing for the Reds, and where one day soon he could play for his father.
That view has helped fuel speculation that Senior is the Reds' manager-in-waiting. The Griffeys scoff at the idea.
"That's you guys talking about it, not us," Junior said, meaning reporters. "He has had other job offers. He could have been somewhere else, but they didn't work out. With the contract I signed here and the contract Seattle offered me, do you think if he was somewhere else he would say come here for me? He wouldn't do it. It was all my decision to come here. It had nothing to do with him as far as him getting a manager's job. For people to think anything else is not right. They don't know our family. Even if he wasn't here, it still would have been one of the places where I wanted to play."
Then he added: "If I wanted to force the issue, I could have made him a coach in Seattle. But I didn't. That's just the way it is. We're two separate people."
Senior was asked if he ever thought he would manage Junior.
"I don't know," he said. "I can't force-feed the future. I mean, I'd like to. We'll just wait and see. But at this point Jack McKeon is the manager. That's who's going to be managing this club."
In recent years, fathers have not had much success with their sons on their teams. When Hal McRae managed the Kansas City Royals, his son Brian was his center fielder, and they had a rugged relationship. When Dale Berra joined his father, Yogi, who was managing the Yankees, they looked forward to a fun-filled professional relationship. But Yogi was fired 16 games into the season. Cal Ripken Sr. and Jr. had a similarly distasteful experience that resulted in Senior's dismissal as manager of the Baltimore Orioles.
For now, the elder Griffey will scrutinize his son from the vantage point of hitting coach. Based on Junior's first 11 seasons in the major leagues, Senior won't have much coaching to do. Junior took his 398 home runs to the Reds, including 160 in the last three seasons, and a .299 batting average built on seven .300 seasons. Junior has been singled out generally as the player with the best chance to break Hank Aaron's career record of 755 home runs.
"He's not thinking that way right now," Senior said. "The only thing he's got on his mind is that ring. That's the only thing he thinks about. That one ring. He says if he gets one, I can't rub it in on him."
Senior's World Series rings, from 1975 and '76, don't give him immunity from Junior's taunts.
"He gets on me all the time," Senior said. "He says all sorts of stuff. But I get the last laugh. After every workout they have to run."
Senior, who supervises the running around the bases, laughed an evil laugh. "He was a little upset at me the other day because I ran him," Senior said. "They had to run two triples instead of one. He said, 'I'm going to tell my grandmother.' "
_____________________________________________
Y.A