With social injustices plastering the headlines and global activism the past few weeks, players of all sports have begun to speak out on the problems they have faced throughout their careers. The New York Yankees are no exception to that reality, as Ken Griffey Jr. detailed an instance that made him feel objectified when he was a youngster.
Ken Griffey Sr., who played for the Yankees at the time, brought his young son to batting practice before a game against the Mariners. He had been sitting in the Mariners’ dugout when a security officer approached him.
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“I came up to visit my dad, and it was just me and him, and got to the ballpark early,†said Griffey. “I’m sitting in the dugout, and the security guard comes over and says, ‘Hey, George doesn’t want anyone in the dugout.’ My dad was like, ‘What? My son.’ So he goes, ‘All right, hey, go in my locker. But before you go, look at third base.’ It’s Craig Nettles’ son taking ground balls at third base.â€
Later on in his career, Griffey Jr. told a fan that “If the Yankees were the last team, if they were the only team that gave me a contract, I’d retire.â€
Griffey Jr. went on to play for 22 years in the MLB. He hit 630 home runs, 1,836 RBIs, 2,781 hits, and tallied a .284 batting average. He was an All-Star 13 times, won the MVP in 1997, 17 Silver sluggers, 10 gold gloves, and posted a bevy of other impressive accolades.
To realize that the voice of one security guard affected the potential of history is blasphemous. Did George Steinbrenner actually say what the security guard told Jr.? Who knows, but one comment changed the course of history forever, and now it’s being revisited many years later. Griffey Jr. could’ve ended up on the Yankees, which he later stated he would never have joined after the incident. This proves that racial and social injustices are present in all facets of society, and identifying them now and eradicating them is a necessity moving forward.