George Kenneth Griffey, Jr

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

A 13-year-old boy was kicked out of the Yankees dugout...

His response changed baseball forever

By the '80s, Yankees manager Billy Martin had quite a reputation:

• Broke a reporter's nose

• Bar fights with strangers

• Bar fights with his players

But this particular story will live in baseball lore forever.

At the time, players' kids would get to Yankee Stadium early to hang out before games.

On this day, groups of boys were running around the Yankee clubhouse & playing on the field.

But Billy Martin zeroed in on one of them.

Martin sent a security guard into the dugout where a 13-year-old boy & his father – the Yankees star 1st baseman – were hanging out.

"Hey, George [Steinbrenner] doesn't want anybody in the dugout."

The player complied, sending his son into the clubhouse.

As the boy left, his dad motioned for him to "look at third base." It was Graig Nettles' son taking ground balls on the field.

The Yankees star felt insulted. And his 13-year-old son took it to heart.

This kid held a grudge against the New York Yankees for the next 30 years.

His name?

George Kenneth Griffey Jr.

A few years later, Ken Griffey Jr. was the number 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft.

At 17 years old, he was shipped off to play minor league ball 2,400 miles from home – a 36-hour drive.

Compounded with enormous expectations, Junior struggled with depression during this time.

But his dad was always there, helping him overcome every hurdle.

2 years later, Junior made it to the big leagues & became a symbol of hope for the lowly Seattle Mariners.

His dad joined him shortly after, forming the first father-son teammate duo in MLB history.

And Junior stuck it to the Yankees every chance he got.

In the 1st playoff game of his career, he smoked 2 homers at Yankee Stadium. Seattle won the series, as The Kid hit .391 (9-for-23) with 5 HRs & 7 RBI.

While signing autographs outside the stadium, a fan in the crowd yelled out: "Come play for the Yankees, bro!"

"No," Junior shot back. "If the Yankees were the last team – if they were the only team that gave me a contract, I'd retire."

Ken Griffey Jr's career vs. the Yankees:

• 36 HRs

• 102 RBI

• .311 AVG

• 133 games

Crushing the Yankees was engrained in Junior's mind.

"There are certain things that a dad drills into you as a kid that just stick with you."

"That was one of them."

[Chantry]

Billy Martin, a good couch, but not a good person

 

And I lived northern NJ was he was coaching

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

1 hour ago, Chantry said:

Billy Martin, a good couch, but not a good person

 

And I lived northern NJ was he was coaching

I lived in NYC when he was manager. Seems he was always in the news for bad behavior. 

[Tex Jones, SASS 2263]

He did have a nice store on the upper East Side of NYC that sold expensive western wear.