‘Unbelievable ride’: Seattle retires Griffey’s 24

SEATTLE — He’s already had his place in history cemented forever with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, his plaque now enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y., with the rest of baseball’s all-time greats.

But on Saturday night, Ken Griffey Jr. found another permanent home — his one home indeed among Northwest fans — as his No. 24 was retired by the Mariners and hung on the center-field façade next to Jackie Robinson’s 42 at Safeco Field.

“I’ve had so many great memories in this city,” Griffey told a sellout crowd of 45,000 after watching his number unveiled and being told a statue in his honor would be built outside Safeco Field next year. “It’s been an unbelievable ride.”

Griffey became the first Mariner ever to have his number retired by the organization, a fitting tribute for the first player to wear a Mariners hat on a Hall of Fame plaque and the man credited with helping save baseball in Seattle for his part in the 1995 season that led to the building of the beautiful outdoor stadium that now houses his familiar 24.

Griffey previously had spoken to Safeco crowds in pregame ceremonies when he returned to Seattle as part of the Reds organization in 2007 and again when he was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in ’13. And of course he just made his National Baseball Hall of Fame speech in Cooperstown two weeks earlier.

But this one was a light-hearted and joyous celebration as Griffey regaled in the moment, surrounded by former teammates Alvin Davis, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson, Jamie Moyer and Edgar Martinez, as well as Seahawks Hall of Famers Cortez Kennedy and Steve Largent and former Sonics stars Spencer Haywood and Gary Payton.

Stars across …

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