Mariners Hall of Fame Speech by Ken Griffey Jr. Lyrics
Thank you.
I have so many things running through my mind. And I can honestly say that I am thankful to be a part of the Seattle Mariners.
There are so many people to thank, from the front office; to the media; to the fans. I wasn't expecting to see Trey up on the board, and I can honestly say, Trey, that I know what you're going through now; it's all your fault.
As a 17-year-old kid, getting drafted by Seattle, I had no idea what I was in for. Coming here at 19, meeting my wife here, having two kids here in Seattle, and then one little guy in Orlando-- as you can see, there's never a dull moment in my house with him.
My parents let me be me. You know, they let run around the house, play baseball, tear up stuff-- you know-- break a few windows. You know, but my dad said, "You can't teach that swing, so let it go." Mom would get a little upset, but that's okay.
Coming here at 19, being from the Midwest, coming to Seattle-- which I call the melting pot of the United States, because it doesn't matter what color; what race; what anything you are-- people treat you like people.
And being up here on 6 of the most respected people that I know. Starting off with Alvin, Mr. Mariner-- who also is the calmest person I know, because he didn't get mad at all; he would just say, "Hey, settle down." and I'd be like, "Uhh, no." And he'd just be like, "Sit down. We're going to talk." And those talks would end up being three to four hours, because I wasn't listening-- and he drilled it in me-- But he is my older brother.
And then I have Edgar: the greatest right-hand hitter I've ever played with.
I got the little guy in the middle, Randy: the most dominating pitcher-- I can't say enough for him. The things he's-- I was his locker partner, so my story's a little different than most of you guys. You know, Randy would come in smiling and then the media would come in and he'd frown up and then nobody would mess with him. And it was cool with me, because nobody would stand by me. You know, during Spring Training, you know, our group-- me, Jay, Edgar and myself-- Randy throwing BP, he'd throw BP and see how far we'd hit it. And then he'd start laughing. And then the first time I faced him for real he drilled me. But he did say "I'm sorry" as I went down to first base.
Dan Wilson: probably the most fiery person that I know. Always wanting to win, always prepared, and probably the only person on the team that was willing to tell Randy, "Shut the hell up."
And then I got the guy who announced everybody here. His wife is sitting here today because he can't make it. But he is here. I'll tell you a little story about Dave. The first time I met him, as he came into Spring Training-- well I should say I came into Spring Training-- and I'm looking at him and he's got these little short shorts, pale legs, calf-high socks, and white shoes, and a yellow shirt, and I couldn't keep my eyes off him. And he introduces himself and says, "I'm Dave. I'm the announcer." And I just looked at him, and I was like, "You know, the sun is free." And then I went out and took batting practice, and I didn't make the team that year. Next year, I made the team, but he got me back; I won't tell you what he said-- that's between me and Dave. But I couldn't think of a better announcer, another play-by-play guy to announce my first home run and my last home run. And really all the thanks goes to Ms. Niehaus, not Dave.
Then I got Howard, Chuck, John. I can't say enough about the friendship that we have. And it's not baseball related. It's more of-- if you think that these three guys don't want to win, you're sadly mistaken. I know that some days are better than others, but to have these three guys' ownership and you get a chance to talk to them and know them, they want to win and bring a championship to this city.
I want to say something to the guys on my left. We were just like you; all of us here, sitting here. I was 19, Jay was 22-23, Randy 22-23. We grew up, and we believed in each other, and we made it happen. And you guys can do it, too.
I have my medical staff over there. That group over there that, every time I got hurt, I would cough. And being sometimes on the east coast, I would call them at 5:00 in the morning and tell them what happened and they'd say, "Hey, this is what you need to do." And I would do it. And that's Rick and ?.
I have Dave Valle over there trying to hide, but I'm going to talk about him. Dave's got one of the biggest hearts. You know, the things he does for so many people. Ask around. He comes down-- he flies from Seattle, stops in Orlando for a cuople of days, we play golf-- he's an unbelievable person. And I'm honored to call of these guys my friends and my brothers.
Now I've saved-- well, I'm going to get to-- really my mom and dad. See, my dad just gave me that look. See he turned around, and I'm going to turn around and look at y'all. But, my mom and dad were unbelievable. Like I said, they let me be a kid. Basketball season came around, I played basketball; football, football. They weren't concerned about me making it to the Big Leagues. They wanted me to be a kid and enjoy the things that kids do. You know I'd call my dad and ask for some advice about hitting. And I was struggling one time, and he would tell me-- and it didn't seem right. And my mom would say, "Just call him. He understands that." Because he would have to show me. But he is the one player that I look at and wanted to be like.
And then I have my mom, who, while my dad was playing, drove me and my brother to all our sporting events. Me and my brother were around the same age; 18 months apart. So she would drive one of us, dropped the other one off, watch half the game, have the coach drive me or my brother back to wherever we were so she could watch half the game. I didn't realize how much dedication that my mom had until I retired. And then I went home and I sat on my couch for the first two days, and my wife looked at me and said, "We got to go to Tennessee, Atlanta, Chicago, back to Atlanta, Augusta, and then home." And then I looked at her and said, "How long are we going to be gone?" And she said, "That will be for the next three weeks." And I looked at her like, "I'm not going." I went.
I've got Lynn Merritt, who the first time I met Lynn, he says, "I can't do nothing for you now, but if you keep playing, I got you." That was 24 years ago. You notice that, if you look at the Heat game, Lynn will be in the front row of every Heat game. He's over there. He's another one of my older brothers that will tell me what I'm doing wrong at any given time. I got my agent, Ryan Goldberg; had him since I was 17; been a part of my family's life since I was 14. You can't talk to agents before you sign, so I have to clarify that with him-- the NCAA over here. He's been there when I called at 3:00-4:00-5:00 in the morning asking for advice on certain things. And I can't thank those two guys enough for being in my camp since I was a young kid. Thank you.
I want to talk to you guys as fans, because sometimes you don't hear about what I have to say, or it comes out wrong. But I'm going to tell you is that you guys-- across the street, they got the 12th man. Well on this side of the street, we need the 10th man. And we look at y'all in the stands and go, "Whoo, it's going to be a good day." If you don't show up, we look and say, "Oh well." But you guys are important; more than what you think we are. And I know sometimes it gets a little frustrating. We get frustrated, because we want to go out there and perform and we want you guys to-- when you drive home-- to say, "Wow, I was there for that," and have a smile on your face. We're not trying to mess up. We're not trying to make you guys upset in any way. We just want you guys to be happy on the 20-30-40 two-hour drive, in some cases five-hour drive home. But you guys should be patient with these guys. I know that we're going in the right direction, because I spent a lot of time in the Minor League system to see what we got coming up.
But before I go, I waited until the last to talk about Jay. I'm not going to tell no stories; okay, maybe one. Of all people that I would consider my brother-- from another mother-- a guy who listens to country music, wears cowboy boots, big belt buckles; I got 17 speakers in a car, sweatsuits, rap music. Two people that are so far apart on every level became really close. And I don't know if it was because of the pitching changes that we had; I went over to right field and he came over. But there's no other person in this world-- other than my parents-- that if something ever happened to me or my wife that I would want to raise my kids.
In closing, I'm just going to say this. I am truly honored and humbled to be associated with these people here. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart; love you, too. I wasn't really going to speak this long, because I don't ever prepare for everything-- I don't have a speech. I always speak from the heart. And I think that's the most important thing. Sometimes I may have been a little stand-offish; I didn't mean to. I just wanted to play baseball. And that was the only thing that really mattered, was me going out there and try to win ballgames for this team.
But I want to thank all y'all. I want to thank the Mariners organization for letting me be a part of something special. Thank you. I just want to say, thank you.
I have so many things running through my mind. And I can honestly say that I am thankful to be a part of the Seattle Mariners.
There are so many people to thank, from the front office; to the media; to the fans. I wasn't expecting to see Trey up on the board, and I can honestly say, Trey, that I know what you're going through now; it's all your fault.
As a 17-year-old kid, getting drafted by Seattle, I had no idea what I was in for. Coming here at 19, meeting my wife here, having two kids here in Seattle, and then one little guy in Orlando-- as you can see, there's never a dull moment in my house with him.
My parents let me be me. You know, they let run around the house, play baseball, tear up stuff-- you know-- break a few windows. You know, but my dad said, "You can't teach that swing, so let it go." Mom would get a little upset, but that's okay.
Coming here at 19, being from the Midwest, coming to Seattle-- which I call the melting pot of the United States, because it doesn't matter what color; what race; what anything you are-- people treat you like people.
And being up here on 6 of the most respected people that I know. Starting off with Alvin, Mr. Mariner-- who also is the calmest person I know, because he didn't get mad at all; he would just say, "Hey, settle down." and I'd be like, "Uhh, no." And he'd just be like, "Sit down. We're going to talk." And those talks would end up being three to four hours, because I wasn't listening-- and he drilled it in me-- But he is my older brother.
And then I have Edgar: the greatest right-hand hitter I've ever played with.
I got the little guy in the middle, Randy: the most dominating pitcher-- I can't say enough for him. The things he's-- I was his locker partner, so my story's a little different than most of you guys. You know, Randy would come in smiling and then the media would come in and he'd frown up and then nobody would mess with him. And it was cool with me, because nobody would stand by me. You know, during Spring Training, you know, our group-- me, Jay, Edgar and myself-- Randy throwing BP, he'd throw BP and see how far we'd hit it. And then he'd start laughing. And then the first time I faced him for real he drilled me. But he did say "I'm sorry" as I went down to first base.
Dan Wilson: probably the most fiery person that I know. Always wanting to win, always prepared, and probably the only person on the team that was willing to tell Randy, "Shut the hell up."
And then I got the guy who announced everybody here. His wife is sitting here today because he can't make it. But he is here. I'll tell you a little story about Dave. The first time I met him, as he came into Spring Training-- well I should say I came into Spring Training-- and I'm looking at him and he's got these little short shorts, pale legs, calf-high socks, and white shoes, and a yellow shirt, and I couldn't keep my eyes off him. And he introduces himself and says, "I'm Dave. I'm the announcer." And I just looked at him, and I was like, "You know, the sun is free." And then I went out and took batting practice, and I didn't make the team that year. Next year, I made the team, but he got me back; I won't tell you what he said-- that's between me and Dave. But I couldn't think of a better announcer, another play-by-play guy to announce my first home run and my last home run. And really all the thanks goes to Ms. Niehaus, not Dave.
Then I got Howard, Chuck, John. I can't say enough about the friendship that we have. And it's not baseball related. It's more of-- if you think that these three guys don't want to win, you're sadly mistaken. I know that some days are better than others, but to have these three guys' ownership and you get a chance to talk to them and know them, they want to win and bring a championship to this city.
I want to say something to the guys on my left. We were just like you; all of us here, sitting here. I was 19, Jay was 22-23, Randy 22-23. We grew up, and we believed in each other, and we made it happen. And you guys can do it, too.
I have my medical staff over there. That group over there that, every time I got hurt, I would cough. And being sometimes on the east coast, I would call them at 5:00 in the morning and tell them what happened and they'd say, "Hey, this is what you need to do." And I would do it. And that's Rick and ?.
I have Dave Valle over there trying to hide, but I'm going to talk about him. Dave's got one of the biggest hearts. You know, the things he does for so many people. Ask around. He comes down-- he flies from Seattle, stops in Orlando for a cuople of days, we play golf-- he's an unbelievable person. And I'm honored to call of these guys my friends and my brothers.
Now I've saved-- well, I'm going to get to-- really my mom and dad. See, my dad just gave me that look. See he turned around, and I'm going to turn around and look at y'all. But, my mom and dad were unbelievable. Like I said, they let me be a kid. Basketball season came around, I played basketball; football, football. They weren't concerned about me making it to the Big Leagues. They wanted me to be a kid and enjoy the things that kids do. You know I'd call my dad and ask for some advice about hitting. And I was struggling one time, and he would tell me-- and it didn't seem right. And my mom would say, "Just call him. He understands that." Because he would have to show me. But he is the one player that I look at and wanted to be like.
And then I have my mom, who, while my dad was playing, drove me and my brother to all our sporting events. Me and my brother were around the same age; 18 months apart. So she would drive one of us, dropped the other one off, watch half the game, have the coach drive me or my brother back to wherever we were so she could watch half the game. I didn't realize how much dedication that my mom had until I retired. And then I went home and I sat on my couch for the first two days, and my wife looked at me and said, "We got to go to Tennessee, Atlanta, Chicago, back to Atlanta, Augusta, and then home." And then I looked at her and said, "How long are we going to be gone?" And she said, "That will be for the next three weeks." And I looked at her like, "I'm not going." I went.
I've got Lynn Merritt, who the first time I met Lynn, he says, "I can't do nothing for you now, but if you keep playing, I got you." That was 24 years ago. You notice that, if you look at the Heat game, Lynn will be in the front row of every Heat game. He's over there. He's another one of my older brothers that will tell me what I'm doing wrong at any given time. I got my agent, Ryan Goldberg; had him since I was 17; been a part of my family's life since I was 14. You can't talk to agents before you sign, so I have to clarify that with him-- the NCAA over here. He's been there when I called at 3:00-4:00-5:00 in the morning asking for advice on certain things. And I can't thank those two guys enough for being in my camp since I was a young kid. Thank you.
I want to talk to you guys as fans, because sometimes you don't hear about what I have to say, or it comes out wrong. But I'm going to tell you is that you guys-- across the street, they got the 12th man. Well on this side of the street, we need the 10th man. And we look at y'all in the stands and go, "Whoo, it's going to be a good day." If you don't show up, we look and say, "Oh well." But you guys are important; more than what you think we are. And I know sometimes it gets a little frustrating. We get frustrated, because we want to go out there and perform and we want you guys to-- when you drive home-- to say, "Wow, I was there for that," and have a smile on your face. We're not trying to mess up. We're not trying to make you guys upset in any way. We just want you guys to be happy on the 20-30-40 two-hour drive, in some cases five-hour drive home. But you guys should be patient with these guys. I know that we're going in the right direction, because I spent a lot of time in the Minor League system to see what we got coming up.
But before I go, I waited until the last to talk about Jay. I'm not going to tell no stories; okay, maybe one. Of all people that I would consider my brother-- from another mother-- a guy who listens to country music, wears cowboy boots, big belt buckles; I got 17 speakers in a car, sweatsuits, rap music. Two people that are so far apart on every level became really close. And I don't know if it was because of the pitching changes that we had; I went over to right field and he came over. But there's no other person in this world-- other than my parents-- that if something ever happened to me or my wife that I would want to raise my kids.
In closing, I'm just going to say this. I am truly honored and humbled to be associated with these people here. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart; love you, too. I wasn't really going to speak this long, because I don't ever prepare for everything-- I don't have a speech. I always speak from the heart. And I think that's the most important thing. Sometimes I may have been a little stand-offish; I didn't mean to. I just wanted to play baseball. And that was the only thing that really mattered, was me going out there and try to win ballgames for this team.
But I want to thank all y'all. I want to thank the Mariners organization for letting me be a part of something special. Thank you. I just want to say, thank you.