Ken Griffey Jr. will be in some rare company in the Safeco Field rafters, as his number will be the only one to accompany Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 hanging over the stadium’s spectators.
But Griffey’s number will not only never be worn at the highest of levels with the Mariners anymore, his number will never be worn with any team that is associated with the Mariners in the minors. That is (we believe) the first of its kind in baseball. The retirement will happen on Ken Griffey Jr. weekend on August 5-7.
First Mariner in the Hall, last Mariner to wear No. 24. #Mariners to retire Ken Griffey Jr’s number. #JrHOF pic.twitter.com/gd2pI3UTUX
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) January 9, 2016
Seattle Mariners president Kevin Mather said, “Ken Griffey Jr. was the first player selected in the 1987 draft, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the first player in Hall of Fame history to amass over 99 percent of the vote and the first player to wear a Mariners cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.” He added, “It seems only fitting that he be the first Mariners player to have his number retired.”
Griffey also knows the magnitude of having his number next to Robinson’s, from the Seattle Times:
Having my number next to him?” Griffey said quietly, while pausing and collecting his thoughts and emotions. “I don’t think I did half of what he did. Baseball-wise, yeah, you can look at the numbers and things like that. But the way he went about his life and the things he did off the field nobody can compare to that. He’s a trailblazer in more ways than one. I’ve heard the stories. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Joe Black, who would tell me stories about how Jackie played and what he meant to the guys off the field.”
It seems quite appropriate that Griffey’s number is the only one that will stand next to Robinson’s above Safeco Field. In 2007, Griffey requested to wear Robinson’s No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day to honor the legend, and now, everyone dons the number come Jackie Robinson Day.
In 2009, Griffey hit his 400th career home run as a Mariner on Jackie Robinson Day.
If there is anyone who has earned their number being retired throughout an entire organization, it is undoubtedly Ken Griffey Jr.
