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Griffey eager to share No. 24 retirement with fans
- Updated: August 6, 2016
GSEATTLE — Ken Griffey Jr. will stand in front of a sold-out Safeco Field on Saturday night and explain what it means to have his familiar No. 24 be the first number retired by the Mariners. It doesn’t figure to be an easy moment, even for a guy who just addressed a huge throng in Cooperstown, N.Y., two weeks earlier when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It’s about the same,” Griffey said Friday of his building emotions. “I got to share my story with 50,000 people. I get to do it again tomorrow, it’s just that these 50,000 have seen me play up close for years. So it’s a big deal for me. I don’t take it lightly and tomorrow is definitely one of those things that is special. It’s pretty neat that I get to enjoy it with the people who have seen me from a teenager to a 40-year-old.”
Griffey’s No. 24 will be worn by all the Mariners players during batting practice prior to Saturday’s 6:40 p.m. PT game against the Angels, but that will be the last time that number is worn by any member of the organization, both at the Major and Minor League levels.
Griffey’s jersey will be hung at Safeco Field next to Jackie Robinson’s 42, the only number retired throughout all of baseball. And that makes the occasional all the sweeter for Griffey, who is the one who convinced former Commissioner Bud Selig to have every player wear 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.
“It’s overwhelming and humbling because of the guy I’m going next to who basically sacrificed his life for guys to play,” Griffey said. “It’s a weird feeling because what he’s done to allow pretty much everyone to play this game and I’m going to be right next to him.
“I don’t have a total grasp on it. I’m going to enjoy it. Do I think I’m worth it? Nah, just because of what he’s done and what I’ve …
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