SEATTLE, WA - Seattle Mariners President & Chief Operating Officer Chuck Armstrong announced today that Ken Griffey Jr. has accepted the position of Special Consultant to the franchise, effective immediately. "Ken has been steadfast in his desire to continue his relationship with the Mariners since his return to Seattle in 2009," Armstrong said. "We have designed a position that will allow Ken to continue to help the franchise succeed on, and off, the field by consulting with a variety of departments here at the Mariners."
"I'm looking forward to staying very involved with the Mariners, working with the players throughout the organization, staying involved with the community and assisting in other areas of the organization," Griffey said. "It's an exciting time and I'm appreciative of the opportunity." Griffey will be involved in numerous areas of the Mariners franchise including, but not limited to, Major League Baseball Operations, player development, our minor league system, marketing, broadcasting and community relations. Griffey is expected to join the club in Peoria, Arizona, for a portion of Spring Training working in both Major League and minor league camp. He will make trips to Seattle during the 2011 season, as well as visiting most or all of Seattle's minor league affiliates during the year.
I really don't know what he has to offer to the young kids? The last time times got tough here last year, he packed up and quit on his team.
Maybe he can teach them how to nap really well.
ReplyDeleteI read the report and found it confusing as well. I liked Griffey along the way, but his role is really ill-defined. It's sounding like he's a traveling team spokesperson trying to sell merchandise at this point.
ReplyDeleteI hope he proves me wrong and helps some kids out though.
Oh, man - you're killing me! I love Griffey! Though I understand a little bitterness from Seattle fans (I'm honestly surprised there isn't more). He basically did demand out of there, though I think it's understanding to want to go to your hometown (Lebron comments aside).
ReplyDeleteSad thing is, he got some buyer's remorse for sure, and Cincy was too small of a market for the contract he had, even though we signed him for well below his market at the time. A small but vocal contingent of Reds fans seemed to never like him.
I'll say this - I don't know of a teammate that's ever had bad things to say about him aside from maybe 1 or 2 young kids regarding the nap-gate. The overwhelming majority of his ex-teammates seem to speak very highly of him.
Also, as a Reds fan, one thing I appreciated: Joe Nuxhall died a few years ago in November. A time when players have their couple months to stay away from the organization. A total of 1 current Red showed up to Joe's funeral. He may not be well-known outside of Cincinnati, but Joe was a local icon.
Not really expecting to change your mind - and he's certainly had some instances where he seems disjointed from a fans perspected, but I think classifying him as arrogant is a little harsh.