| | NEW YORK -- Junior has returned home.
Following three months of often deadlocked trade talks, the
Cincinnati Reds reunited Ken Griffey Jr. with his father and his
hometown Thursday by sending four players to the Seattle Mariners.
|  | | Three generations of Griffey men (from left): Ken Sr., Trey and Ken Jr. |
The final piece of the deal came when Griffey agreed to a
nine-year contract worth $116.5 million, the richest package in
baseball history. The pact covers from 2000-08, and the Reds even
have an option for a 10th season. The total package is for $116.5 million and includes a buyout for a 10th year. The $112.5 million the team reported at its news conference is the deal without the buyout. In addition, $57.5 million of the deal is deferred until
after Griffey retires.
"The last time I put on this uniform, I think I was 8 -- for a
father-son game," Griffey said, pulling on a Reds jersey at a news
conference.
"This is something I dreamed about as a little kid, being back
in my hometown where I watched so many great players," he said.
Griffey will wear No. 30, a number previously used by Ken Griffey Sr., a former Big Red Machine outfielder
and current bench coach. Ken Sr. will switch to No. 33 this season.
The number Griffey wore in Seattle, No. 24, belongs to Reds'
Hall of Famer Tony Perez and will be retired.
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Thur., February
10
I'll be interested to see the players' assocation
reaction to Griffey's contract. With players like Juan Gonzalez, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez looking to
sign new contracts, my guess is the players' assocation will think Griffey undersold
himself.
And trust me, you'll hear rumors that he undersold himself. In the past, there have been some pitchers who sabotaged the market to take less than they were being offered from another team and the players' association let them hear about it.
But, one plus from Junior's standpoint is that money wasn't the number one issue for
him. Players who haven't had the impact he's had will be making a lot more than him.
How will fans react to Griffey? It's a new league, so people will look forward to seeing him play. He won't be playing in Seattle this year, so he won't have to worry about the reaction there.
I wouldn't think the transition to a different league will be much of an obstacle. He's a pretty good low-ball hitter and the National League has always been considered more of a low-ball league. Also, from announcing games and watching games on ESPN, I think the umpiring has gotten a lot closer together in recent years, so Griffey shouldn't have to make much of an adjustment in the strike zone.
I imagine the Reds will try to move an outfielder for a pitcher. Along with Griffey, they have Dante Bichette in left, with Dmitri Young and Michael Tucker in right field. They also traded for Alex Ochoa and are bringing in Deion Sanders to spring training, so they have excess to make a trade. Brett Tomko was slated as the fifth starter, so the Reds have a hole to fill in the rotation.
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Griffey was picked up in Florida on Thursday by a private plane belonging to
Reds owner Carl Lindner, and flown to Cincinnati, where about 200 people
greeted him at the airport. Earlier, euphoric fans honked horns on
the streets, put up "Welcome Home" signs in their yards and
reveled in the team's most celebrated trade since Pete Rose
returned as player-manager in 1984.
"His name comes up like Pete Rose's name as far as
Cincinnati," said coach Ron Oester, a native who played for the
Reds. "That's the magnitude he's at for Cincinnati fans."
And for all of baseball, too.
Widely regarded as the best all-around player in the game, the
30-year-old Griffey is considered a threat to break Hank Aaron's
career home run record of 755. Junior already has hit 398 with his
sweet, left-handed swing, and was voted onto baseball's All-Century
team last fall.
Cincinnati is the only place the 10-time All-Star center fielder wanted to play. And when spring training begins later this month, his trademark backward hat will have a "C" on it.
"I didn't want to move around," he said. "I wanted to be able to stay put."
Pitcher Brett Tomko and outfielder Mike Cameron were sent to
Seattle for Griffey, along with a pair of minor leaguers: infielder
Antonio Perez and right-hander Jake Meyer.
Tomko, 26, was 5-7 with a 4.92 ERA in 26 starts and seven relief
appearances last season. Cameron, 27, hit .256 with 21 homers and
66 RBI.
Meyer, 25, went 5-4 with a 3.67 ERA at Class A Rockford and
Double-A Chattanooga last season. Perez, 18, hit .288 with seven
homers, 41 RBI and 35 stolen bases at Class-A Rockford.
"It's like being traded for Jordan or something," Tomko said.
Indeed, Griffey could be his sport's Michael Jordan. No wonder
the Mariners were so reluctant to lose him.
"We hope that Ken decides to go into the Hall of Fame as a Mariner," Seattle president Chuck Armstrong said. "We might not have baseball here except for Ken, and we might not have Safeco Field."
The Mariners, though, had little hope of keeping him after this
season. He was eligible for free agency, and said he wanted to be
closer to his home in Florida.
He eventually limited his list of eligible teams to one: the Reds.
Cincinnati is where Griffey grew up playing in the clubhouse during the days
when his father was part of the Big Red Machine.
Ken Sr. is a candidate to
eventually succeed manager Jack McKeon, who has a one-year
contract. The son put in a plug for the father.
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How the lineups shake up
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Reds
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Mariners
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2B P. Reese
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CF M. Cameron
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SS Barry Larkin
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LF McLemore/Javier
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CF Ken Griffey Jr.
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1B John Olerud
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LF Dante Bichette
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SS A. Rodriguez
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1B Sean Casey
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DH Edgar Martinez
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RF D. Young/M. Tucker
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RF Jay Buhner
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C E. Taubensee
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2B David Bell
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3B Aaron Boone
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C Dan Wilson
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Pitcher
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3B Carlos Guillen
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Rotation
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Rotation
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Pete Harnisch
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Jamie Moyer
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Denny Neagle
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Aaron Sele
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Steve Parris
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Freddy Garcia
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Ron Villone
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John Halama
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Open/Dennys Reyes
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Brett Tomko/Gil Meche
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"He's been around baseball for 20-plus years. He knows what it
takes to be a manager. I hope he gets the chance," he said.
Griffey turned down an eight-year, $148 million contract
extension last summer with the Mariners, and trade talks with the
Reds heated up during the winter meetings in December. Along the
way, Griffey blocked a trade to the New York Mets that would have sent him to the Mets for Armando Benitez, Roger Cedeno and Octavio Dotel.
As recently as Tuesday, it appeared the Seattle-Cincinnati deal
had bogged down over the Reds' financial concerns -- they didn't
think they could afford him beyond 2000, the last year on his
contract.
The Mariners resolved the impasse by giving agent Brian Goldberg
permission to talk to the Reds, a move that may have violated
baseball's rules against tampering.
Assured that Griffey would accept less to play in his hometown, the Reds went ahead and completed the five-player trade on Wednesday night, then asked the commissioner's office for a 72-hour window to negotiate a long-term deal with Griffey.
A contract that includes a lot of deferred payments was agreed
upon Thursday afternoon, according to a source speaking on
condition he not be identified.
The trade involved only Cincinnati and the Mariners, and was the
first big move by Lindner since buying the Reds from Marge
Schott last fall. There had been speculation a three-way deal
including Anaheim was in the works.
Original reports involved a three-way deal between the Mariners, Reds and Anaheim Angels that would send Tomko to the Angels and Jim Edmonds to the Mariners.
Reds fans immediately began daydreaming of Griffey playing
center field at Cinergy Field, and even a new ballpark in the new
future.
Reds officials said Friday the ballclub had one of the best days
in its history selling tickets Thursday, as word spread that
Griffey was joining the Reds. The Reds declined to say how many
tickets they sold.
But team spokesman Rob Butcher said: "I think you could say
unequivocally that it was one of the best days we've ever had,
relative to selling tickets."
Griffey is a lifetime .299 hitter with 1,152 RBI in 11 seasons,
all in Seattle. He has won 10 straight Gold Gloves.
The acquisition gives the Reds, who lost a wild-card playoff to
the Mets last season, a fearsome top of the lineup. Griffey will be
surrounded by Barry Larkin, Sean Casey and Dante Bichette, who was
obtained from Colorado last October.
The trade also weakens an already suspect rotation. Although Tomko struggled through 1999, he remained the best young starter on the staff. Bowden tried to trade him to Cleveland for Jaret Wright during the winter meetings in December, but the Indians refused.
And, the deal brings together the game's top sluggers in the
same division. With Mark McGwire in St. Louis and Sammy Sosa
playing for the Cubs, maybe the NL Central should take on a new
name: Home Run Central.
Information from The Associated Press was used
in this story.
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ALSO SEE
Life goes on in Seattle
Stats Class: Life after 30
Griffey takes a legacy of greatness to Cincinnati
Superstar's contract a super deal for Cincinnati
With Griffey gone, M's turn attention to Rodriguez
When superstars get traded
Best trades of the '90s
Highest baseball salaries
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ken Griffey Jr. wants to win a ring like his dad did.
avi: 459 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Peter Gammons takes a look at the Griffey trade.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Seattle's front office addresses Ken Griffey Jr.'s departure.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Barry Larkin is glad to have Ken Griffey as a teammate.
RealVideo: | 28.8
 Seattle GM Pat Gillick says he is just trying to make the team better.
wav: 82 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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