Griffey caps humbling day in own unique way

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ken Griffey Jr.’s Hall of Fame plaque shows a beaming Junior proudly wearing a Mariners cap. But leave it to The Kid to close out his speech at the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Sunday by pulling out a backward cap and flashing his trademark grin.

“I want to thank my family, my friends, the fans, the Reds, White Sox and Mariners for making this kid’s dream come true,” Griffey told a crowd of 50,000 gathered to see he and Mike Piazza become the 311th and 312th members of baseball’s exclusive fraternity.

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Griffey said the decision to flash the backward hat came from Hall of Famer Frank Thomas after he arrived at the Clark Sports Center site on Sunday morning. He liked the idea so much that he called his wife, Melissa, and had her get a cap from his youngest son, Tevin.

“Frank was like, ‘You’ve got to do it, you’ve got to do it,'” Griffey said. “You’ve got to end it like that.”

And why not? Griffey always has had a flair for the dramatic and he understood well the impact of being bestowed baseball’s ultimate honor with 50 fellow Hall of Famers sitting behind on the stage.

“I stand up here humbled and overwhelmed,” Griffey said as he began and his emotions welled close to the surface from start to finish.

He had to do it. #JrHOF pic.twitter.com/Yh3gWjqtUO

– Mariners (@Mariners) July 24, 2016

He had to do it. #JrHOF pic.twitter.com/Yh3gWjqtUO

He feigned surprise when asked at a post-ceremony press conference about breaking into tears just 20 seconds into his speech.

“That was 20 seconds? I thought it was more like 24,” he said, a hat tip to the playing number he wore his …

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