Ken Griffey News

"Jay Bruce might be the hottest hitter on the planet. His bat is ready for the big leagues. The only thing preventing a call-up is the Reds don't have a spot for him to play. Trading Ken Griffey Jr. would open a spot. But despite all the speculation, a Griffey trade isn't close to happening. "I've had no trade discussions," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. Jocketty has talked to Griffey about the situation. As a player with 10 years' experience and five years' tenure with his current club, Griffey must approve any trade. "I've talked with him," Jocketty said. "Not knowing Junior that well, I wanted to make sure we had a line of communication open. He assured me that he'd like to play here and hopefully win a championship.""

"On the same Monday evening that obscure Ramon Vazquez hit a 10th-inning walkoff home run to hand the Mariners an excruciating defeat in Texas, Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera in Cleveland completed an unassisted triple play, the 14th in major league history. Connection? Both are former Mariners minor leaguers let go for virtually nothing. Neither deal has anything to do with a reportedly pending acquisition of Ken Griffey Jr., except that they are joined at the cringe. That cringe developed over years of watching the Mariners squander talent, to the point where despite a franchise-record $117 million payroll and an oft-stated commitment to winning now, they are currently the worst team in the majors. Based on the club's history, the Griffey return is a butts-in-the-seats stunt that could do worse than simply fail to work -- it could be humiliating for all."

"Ken Griffey Jr. joked about his absence from the Cincinnati Reds' starting lineup against Florida on Tuesday night. "It's a good, solid benching after a dropped ball, from what I understand," he said in mock anger. "Let's not call it a day off." The 38-year-old Griffey, hitting .250 with 18 RBIs, is without a home run in 63 at-bats connecting against Houston's Chris Sampson on April 23. Griffey dropped Mike Rabelo's fly ball for an error Monday that allowed two unearned runs to score, but that was not a factor in the decision. Reds manager Dusty Baker had planned for Griffey to be out of the lineup Tuesday."

"The quest to add more pop to the Mariners lineup may be taking a swing through Cincinnati. The Reds apparently are more than willing to trade outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., and Griffey's original team, the Mariners, is in the process of checking out the 38-year-old slugger to see if he might be the answer to an underperforming offense. Duane Shaffer, a special assistant to Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi, was in New York on Sunday to watch the Reds and the Mets play at Shea Stadium and, more specifically, to watch Griffey, who went 0-for-2 with two walks."

"It's a wonderful concept, it really is. Ken Griffey Jr. returning to Seattle to ride out his twilight years in a wave of adulation would provide glorious closure for the greatest Mariner of them all. Theoretically. The problem is that the gap between concept and reality has the potential to be as gaping as the Mariners' deficit in the AL West. This is real life, not a fairy tale. A Griffey homecoming could end up an anti-climactic letdown just as easily as it could be a triumphant valediction for a homegrown Hall of Famer."

"Ken Griffey Jr. wondered if the Reds were getting ready to trade him. "They must be showcasing me," he joked. "Day game after a doubleheader." A Seattle official was reportedly at Shea Sunday. But the Reds haven't had any significant trade talk about Griffey. He's in the final year of his contract. The club holds a $16.5 million option with a $4 million buyout."

"Reds manager Dusty Baker is surprised by the lack of talk about Ken Griffey Jr. approaching 600 home runs. "It's really been kind of quiet nationally," Baker said. "It's been quiet, period." Griffey's going to reach the mark the year after Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755. That might have taken away some of the luster. "It shouldn't - 600 is 600," Baker said. "That's a lot of home runs. It's a lot of practice and hours and being on the field.""

"I was in elementary school when the Mariners drafted Griffey. Not long after, I bought Griffey's first baseball card, part of the 1987 Bellingham Mariners team set, at a card show at the Greenlake Community Center gym. The price, if I remember correctly, was $4.95. That was a major investment, considering my allowance -- my entire weekly income -- was five bucks. (And not a bad investment -- that team set goes for about $200 on eBay. Though, if I'd bought Microsoft stock in 1987, my $4.95 would have turned into about two grand.) The baseball card was the first of many things I'd buy with Griffey's face on it, a cavalcade of goods that matched my interests as I grew older. I bought the Ken Griffey Jr. chocolate bar; I was in middle school. A friend of mine put one in the freezer because he thought it would be worth something someday, but a power outage melted that dream. As a high schooler, I bought "Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball" for the Super Nintendo."

"After a USA Today article incited speculation about Ken Griffey Jr.'s desire to play in Seattle, both the player and his agent said the buzz was overblown. In the national publication's Tuesday editions, Griffey said it's "everybody's dream to go back to where they started." The Reds' foundering record has many wondering what sort of lineup shakeups could happen here - and the ninth-year Reds player is eligible to enter the market as a free agent after this season if the Reds don't pick up his $16 million option for 2009. The USA Today story said Griffey expects the Reds to approach him before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline seeking his approval for a trade."

"Eight seasons after Griffey came to the Reds as the superstar to hitch a pennant on, a hometown boy and a stabilizing force, all he has known is change. The hiring last week of Walt Jocketty at general manager meant Griffey is playing for his fourth GM. That's four more times than he's been in the playoffs as a Red. "

"Ken Griffey Jr.'s hit to right field in the bottom of the 10th inning scored pinch runner Ryan Freel and gave the Reds a 4-3 win over Milwaukee Sunday afternoon. The Reds came from behind to avert a series sweep on a drizzly day at Great American Ball Park before 26,902 fans."

"The lowest common denominator was Ken Griffey Jr.'s walkoff hit to beat the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, April 20, at Great American Ball Park 4-3. The stuff just previous to that, though, was mind-numbing, the first of it so disheartening to most of the 26,302 in attendance that they were on the streets or in the parking lot when the excitement ensued."

"It recently was brought to my attention that Ken Griffey Jr. is on the verge of his 600th career home run. He began the weekend with 596 homers, and barring a catastrophic global event – or, in Griffey’s case, another pulled muscle sustained while chasing down a foul ball – he should reach 600 in the next week or two."

"For days, Reds manager Dusty Baker said Ken Griffey Jr. was "getting close" to hitting the ball out of Great American Ball Park. Griffey delivered Sunday with his first home run this season in the Reds' 8-2 win over Philadelphia."

"While the rest of the Cincinnati Reds were visiting St. Petersburg, Fla., for an exhibition game Friday, March 28, Ken Griffey Jr. was in Washington, D.C., visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "

"Trying to get Ken Griffey Jr. to talk about himself is like trying to get Rickey Henderson NOT to talk about himself. The 38-year-old Cincinnati Reds outfielder will talk about his family until the cows come home and go back out again."

"Ken Griffey Jr. stopped by manager Dusty Baker's office Thursday. "Griff's wondering why he's not playing," Baker said. "He said, 'I'm ready.' One more day, dude.""

"Roger Clemens is a liar. Barry Bonds is a cheat. The John Wayne and Darth Vader of baseball have seen their reputations ruined, their legacies trashed. And as fans sift through the rubble that was their legends, there stands Ken Griffey Jr. Remember him? "

"Ken Griffey Jr.'s conversations with Reds managers from Jack McKeon to Bob Boone to Dave Miley to Jerry Narron always were pretty minimal. Griffey was penciled in the lineup when healthy, and left alone. That will change with Dusty Baker."

"Ken Griffey Jr. was out on Joe Morgan Field here running bases and working up a good sweat Friday. Position players don't even report until Tuesday, but Griffey has been here for three days."

"Ken Griffey Jr., the only player of his era in the top 10 on the all-time home run list who has not been linked to use of performance-enhancing drugs, said Friday baseball needs to restore fans' confidence in the game following the disclosure of the Mitchell Report on Thursday."

"Not surprisingly, most of the questions Friday night went to Ken Griffey Jr. On the panel with him - and moderated by Reds radio broadcaster Thom Brennaman - were Ryan Freel, David Ross, Jeff Keppinger and Matt Belisle."

"Ken Griffey Jr. has been getting calls from players from other teams. 'They want to know if I can put in a good word and get them over here to play for Dusty (Baker),' Griffey said."

"New Reds manager Dusty Baker saw his biggest star, Ken Griffey Jr., during Friday's opening night of Redsfest at the Duke Energy Center and embraced him."

"Griffey made a surprise appearance at Redsfest Friday night. He participated in several of the festivities, but it was the Nuxhall tribute that got him there."

"The younger Griffey said he was happy about the Reds naming Dusty Baker as the team's manager, but thinks the move will do more for the Reds than it will him."

"As a vested veteran, Griffey could not be traded without approving. A writer in Atlanta has lobbied that he go there, close to his home in Orlando. The Yankees are unsettled at first base, if he's interested in switching positions again. The Mariners saw last year what he means to Seattle."

"The Braves need a center fielder until their youngsters are ready, and veteran Ken Griffey Jr. loves Bobby Cox, the accomplished Braves manager, and Griffey’s Cincinnati Reds aren’t going anywhere soon."

"Ken Griffey Jr. will receive the first Living Legend Award presented by the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory."

"Ken Griffey Jr.'s assault on 600 home runs may have come to an end for 2007, as did the Reds' last chance at making the playoffs, in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Griffey left the game in the eighth with a lower abdominal strain and will return today to Cincinnati, where he will be evaluated by Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremcheck."

"Ken Griffey Jr. was due to get a day off today. It came one day too late. Griffey suffered a lower abdominal strain as he prepared to make a throw in the eighth inning of the Reds' 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Wednesday night."

"It can be a lonely existence traveling with your major-league father on road trips. So when Cecil Fielder was playing on the road in Seattle, Ken Griffey Jr. used to pick up Cecil's son, Prince, from the ballpark and bring him over to his house to play video games."

"It was comical Monday to hear a sports-talk host fuss about Ken Griffey Jr. getting thrown out at second base because he didn't run hard out of the batter's box."

"Ken Griffey Jr. is now officially the greatest home run hitter to ever don a Reds uniform. Griffey hit the 587th home run of his career in the second inning of Monday's 10-3 victory over the Braves and moved into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time home run list, breaking a tie with former Red Frank Robinson."

"Ken Griffey Jr. denied a report from ESPN stating he expects to be traded this season."

"Reds officials on Wednesday refused to comment specifically on an ESPN report published Tuesday that quoted Ken Griffey Jr. as saying he thought the team would try to trade him. But Griffey's agent said Wednesday the team recently called the outfielder to deny a trade rumor that had the Reds right fielder going to the Milwaukee Brewers."

"Ken Griffey Jr., the Reds' sole representative in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at AT&T Park, might have won the contest's Most Valuable Player Award had he been on the winning side. Instead, he will have to be content with the fact that he drove in half his team's runs and threw out a runner at the plate in the National League's 5-4 loss to the American League."