Baseball royalty was in our midst last week. Superstar Ken Griffey Jr. was here with the Seattle Mariners and, among other things, revealed that when his playing days are over (hopefully not soon) he wants to be an architect.
A reporter told manager Lou Piniella about Junior’s plans.
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Piniella observed. “He wants to be everything.
“Every time I bring a left-handed pitcher into a game he says, `Skip, I’m available. I can pitch.’ When Alex Rodriguez went down he said, `You know, I’ve been taking a lot of ground balls at shortstop.’ “
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Piniella laughed. “Do you know what else he wants to do?”
I confessed ignorance.
“He wants to manage.”
Maybe someday young Griffey will be a dugout genius. But I doubt it. He is fascinated with the possibility of becoming an architect and building houses. He helped design his home in Seattle and has begun working on a new one that soon will be under construction.
So far he is self-educated but in the fall will begin formal architectural training with a college professor in the Seattle area. They will go one-on-one. He doesn’t want to draw a crowd. He would prefer to attend classes like any other student but realizes his celebrity would cause a problem.
“I don’t want to make a scene,” he said.
In baseball Griffey also has tried to keep a low profile. But it’s absolutely impossible. He is among the best ballplayers of his generation. For all-around ability at bat and in the field, many scouts and insiders rank him No. 1.
“He’s a five-tool player,” White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said. “He can hit with power, he can hit for an average, he’s the best center-fielder, he can run and he can throw. He can beat you a lot of ways.”
Although he is superb in the field, Griffey is best known for his offense. He has hit 161 home runs in the last three seasons: 49, 56 and 56, an average of nearly 54 a year.
Home run king Hank Aaron says if anyone breaks his career record of 755 home runs, Griffey has the best chance.
It’s a subject Griffey doesn’t want to talk about.
“I’m not even close,” he said. “I’m 400-plus behind.”
Going into this season, the 29-year-old Griffey had 350. This is 52 more than Aaron (who never had a 50-home run season) at the same age. If Griffey stays healthy, plays 10 more years and averages 40 a year, he would finish with 750 home runs.
“If you hit 56, you can hit 60,” Piniella said. “There’s not much difference.”
The difference is that Aaron, who was virtually injury-free, played 23 seasons. Griffey isn’t likely to play that long. Also he plays with a reckless abandon and already has overcome two serious injuries. He missed 73 days in 1995 when he ran into a wall and fractured both bones in his left wrist. He was out for three weeks the following year when he broke the hamate bone of his right wrist swinging at a pitch.
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He insists he doesn’t fear injuries.
“If you get hurt playing hard, you don’t have any regrets,” he explained. “But if you get hurt when you’re not playing hard, you what-if yourself. I don’t want to wake up the next morning, look in the mirror and say, `What if I had played harder?’ I don’t want to do that. I give 100 percent.”
Because of a reconstructed wrist, on orders from his orthopedist, he never checks his swing. He aims for the fences only in the late innings when the Mariners need a run for a tie or a victory.
“He is the ultimate team player,” Piniella said. “He does all the little things. He bunts, he hits-and-runs and gets the runner over. He responds to the situation.”
At 6 feet 2 inches and 207 pounds, ideal size for a power hitter, Griffey gets good leverage. He may be the best left-handed hitter since Ted Williams, who was the best since Babe Ruth.
He hits the ball where it’s pitched, which is precisely what his father, Ken Griffey Sr., told him to do. The senior Griffey, now a bench coach with Cincinnati, also was an outstanding hitter, finishing with a .296 career average after 19 big-league seasons.
“My dad always told me, `Don’t try to do too much with the baseball. If it’s outside, go to left. If it’s inside, pull it. The main thing is to see the ball and hit it.’ “
The elder Griffey taught him well.
“My dad always told me, `Don’t imitate anyone. Be yourself. You’re not me and I’m not you. Just be my son. Just go out there and be Ken Griffey Jr.’ “
Found: a son who listened to his father.