A gift from Ken Griffey Jr. to Dave Niehaus, circa 1991

One of our regulars wrote to me on our Facebook site last night, asking about a first inning event in which Ken Griffey Jr. actually left the dugout (with permission) and headed upstairs to present broadcaster Dave Niehaus with a little on-air gift. Having players up in the booth during games is interesting enough. But this reader wanted to know whether I'd seen the photo and could show you all a copy. Well, I just happened to be dining in the press lounge tonight with Niehaus and Rick Rizzs and asked about it. They told me to come on up and snap away. So, here is the photo for you, taken in spring training of 1991 and showing a pantless Niehaus interviewing a much skinnier looking Griffey. Very nice. The real life photo is on a posterboard and is huge. Niehaus is still trying to figure out what to do with it. I'll be down on the field in 45 minutes to hand out the local BBWAA awards. Later, we'll tell you who won.