Griffey: The Giving Tree

[missionhockey21]

They're on to you, Ken Griffey Jr.

"They" are the people who are involved in the organizations that are on the receiving end of your charitable largesse.

They know you can be moody, sometimes annoying, but they also know that you are giving. They know that when it comes to your treasure, you follow your heart.
ADVERTISEMENT

They tell us these things because they know you won't. They like blowing your cover as a public curmudgeon.

They tell us that on Friday nights, when the Make-A-Wish kids come to the ballpark, nobody among the Reds players gives them more time than you. They say nobody is in your league when it comes to disappearing into the clubhouse and emerging with bats and gloves and balls for these kids.

They tell us that when kids from the Boys & Girls Club visit the ballpark, you meet with them in a private room so that nobody knows what an old softie you are.

They tell us that not too long ago you cleaned out your home closets and donated "boxes and boxes of clothing" to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cincinnati.

You changed some lives with that donation, Griffey.

Olajuwon Weems, 16, got a full suit, two suit jackets and five pairs of pants.

Olajuwon is 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, so he didn't have to alter any of the clothes.

"I can go to church now without being embarrassed by my clothes," he said. " I can go for a job interview this summer, and not be embarrassed by my clothes."

They say that back in February, you sent "hundreds" of your signature line of hats and jerseys to the Boys & Girls Club main offices in Cincinnati. No notes, no nothing, just boxes and boxes of jerseys and hats. So they distributed them to the Boys & Girls Clubs around town.

They tell us that for three years you funded a significant portion of the Reds Rookie Success League, a summer program for 500 underprivileged kids.

They say you didn't want word to get out that you were financing it. But you suggested leaving a little hint - that is, embroidering the first initial of each of your three children on a sleeve of the uniform, along with your number.

Just like when Safeco Field opened in Seattle in 1999. You bought two bricks on the plaza level not too far from where you patrolled center field.

On one brick it reads, "Trey & Taryn Griffey." On the other, right next to it, it reads, "The House Their Father Built." They were just two bricks among the passel of bricks bought by regular fans.

You're still building things. It was your idea to autograph 1,000 baseballs which the Mariners will sell for $100 a piece, with the proceeds to be split equally among children's hospitals in Cincinnati, Seattle and Orlando.

And they say one of the most amazing things they ever saw you do still occurs regularly. In city after city, you meet with terminally ill children whose wish is to see you.

"These are kids ... who are going to die in a very short period of time," said Chuck Armstrong, the Seattle Mariners president. "I'd say, 'Kenny, how do you do it? It'd break my heart. I'd spend all my time with them crying.'

"I still don't know how he does it."

Seriously, what a great ambassador for the game. And it's not only spending cash and donating to charity, but for a guy to take kids out to King's Island and to show such an interest in them really proves how much he cares. Really, stories like this in combination with the play makes it so hard to even fathom a trade of Griffey. We need Griffey for a lot more than just his play on the field, even if radio sports jocks can't understand it.

The Enquirer - Griffey's gruff mien: Just an act

[NFLman2033]

Seriously, what a great ambassador for the game. And it's not only spending cash and donating to charity, but for a guy to take kids out to King's Island and to show such an interest in them really proves how much he cares. Really, stories like this in combination with the play makes it so hard to even fathom a trade of Griffey. We need Griffey for a lot more than just his play on the field, even if radio sports jocks can't understand it.

The Enquirer - Griffey's gruff mien: Just an act

i know, this is part of the reason i don't want him to be traded.. do i get upset that we have so much money invested in him, do i get upset when he gets hurt, yes i do, but i have never really wanted him to be traded.. for years it was always my fear that he was going to come back as strong as ever and hurt us, then when i woke up and came to the conclusion that he was never going to be that player again, i still don't want to trade him.. he is the only HOFer on the team.. for me its the same when we always talked about Larkin being traded, i just dont want to see it happen even if his production isn't what it used to be.. the only team i would ever accept Jr playing for other than Cincinnati is Seattle..

[missionhockey21]

i know, this is part of the reason i don't want him to be traded.. do i get upset that we have so much money invested in him, do i get upset when he gets hurt, yes i do, but i have never really wanted him to be traded.. for years it was always my fear that he was going to come back as strong as ever and hurt us, then when i woke up and came to the conclusion that he was never going to be that player again, i still don't want to trade him.. he is the only HOFer on the team.. for me its the same when we always talked about Larkin being traded, i just dont want to see it happen even if his production isn't what it used to be.. the only team i would ever accept Jr playing for other than Cincinnati is Seattle..

Having Griffey retire as a Red and to hang that number one day would be great. Having him hit 400, 500, 600 and more as a Red gives these years of misery some meaning. The fact is, we really can't ever expect to have a player on his type of stage again, they don't come by often and the only reason we were able to get him is of course due to his ties to the city. If the Reds were able to get true value for him, I would consider it, but even then... it's special to have him and special to consider the possibility of what a few more productive power seasons will land him in the record books. I know we're all riding the feel good stories about him (hell, I just wrote one), but we are finally getting the Griffey experience again and I enjoy it.

And I agree, if we can maintain ties to Jr, unlike with Larkin... it would be so great for the franchise down the line (even though I would suspect when he retires in the future, he would be a family man until his kids were grown up.)