Ken Griffey Jr. had no love for the New York Yankees during his playing career, and now he is revealing the reason for that resentment.
During MLB Network’s airing Sunday of the documentary “Junior,” Griffey, the subject of the film, told a story about how then-New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner once had him removed from the Mariners' dugout at Yankee Stadium as a kid. Griffey’s father, Ken Sr., was an outfielder for the Yankees at the time.
“I came up to visit my dad, and it was just me and him, and got to the ballpark early,” said Griffey. “I’m sitting in the dugout, and the security guard comes over and says, ‘Hey, George doesn’t want anyone in the dugout.’ My dad was like, ‘What? My son.’ So he goes, ‘All right, hey, go in my locker. But before you go, look at third base.’ It’s Craig Nettles’ son taking ground balls at third base.”
The film also showed Griffey in archival footage from early on in his MLB career telling fans, “If the Yankees were the last team, if they were the only team that gave me a contract, I’d retire.”
Griffey would get his revenge against the Yankees by becoming one of baseball’s best all-around players for the American League rival Seattle Mariners. He also knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs with a series-winning hit in Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS.
Ken Sr. also shared a story a few years ago about a run-in that his son had with then-Yankees manager Billy Martin that may have contributed to Junior’s ire as well. Regardless, Griffey was one of the few stars of that era that the Yanks were not able to acquire at some point, and now we have a better idea of why.
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