Ken Griffey Jr., a legendary figure in the realm of baseball, has left an indelible mark on the sport with his remarkable talent, unwavering dedication, and charismatic presence. Born on November 21, 1969, in Donora, Pennsylvania, Griffey Jr. embarked on a career that would solidify his status as one of the greatest players to grace the diamond. His prowess as a center fielder for the Seattle Mariners and other illustrious teams earned him numerous accolades, including 13 All-Star selections and 10 Gold Glove Awards. Griffey Jr.’s electrifying performances and magnetic personality captivated fans worldwide, transcending the boundaries of the sport and inspiring generations of athletes.
Beyond his extraordinary feats on the field, Ken Griffey Jr. is also revered for his profound insights and memorable quotes that reflect his passion for the game and his unique perspective on life. Whether discussing the art of hitting a baseball or sharing words of wisdom about perseverance and success, Griffey Jr.’s words resonate with athletes and enthusiasts alike, serving as both motivation and guidance. As fans cherish his legacy and aspiring players seek to emulate his greatness, the timeless wisdom encapsulated in Ken Griffey Jr.’s quotes continues to inspire and uplift. Explore below for a collection of memorable quotes from this iconic figure in baseball history.
I’ve always been an Earnhardt family fan. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m in a Catch-22. If I don’t go after a ball, I’m lazy, I’m not giving it 100 percent. If I do dive for the ball – which I did, and blew out my shoulder – it’s, Why did I play it so hard? Ken Griffey Jr.
I just mind my business and do what I have to do to get ready for the baseball season. Ken Griffey Jr.
I mean, you’re just not going to like somebody and he’s not going to like you. But you’re going to go out there and play. And you’re going to give the other seven or eight guys on that field a chance to win. And that’s just the way it’s going to be. Ken Griffey Jr.
I get a little tired of people telling me what might have been. I think I’ve done OK. I don’t dwell on what might have been. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m not a player who beats his own drum. Ken Griffey Jr.
I may not hit 50, 40 or 30 home runs, but I can do the little things like moving runners over that don’t show up in the box score. Ken Griffey Jr.
My mom told me to hang around with the right people. That’s what I’ve been doing. Just taking it easy and having fun. Ken Griffey Jr.
We’re here for one reason, and that’s to win ballgames. You’re going to have your feuding in there. But that is not going to carry over to the field. That’s just the way it is. Ken Griffey Jr.
Athletes are going to tease each other. Football players want to be baseball players. Baseball players want to be football players. Basketball players want to be baseball players, and vice versa. Ken Griffey Jr.
My brother went to Ohio State. I think Cris Carter just graduated, but Cris was there a lot. I got a chance to go up there and watch the battle between Ohio State and Michigan. Ken Griffey Jr.
Father and son games – that was the best day. We’d be dressed at 6 o’clock in the morning. The game would be at 7 o’clock at night… And we’d play at, like, 5. Ken Griffey Jr.
When I came home, my kids wouldn’t know if I went 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. I do not like to lose at anything, but I wouldn’t be angry all day… Once I left the stadium, it was over with. Ken Griffey Jr.
I don’t like to be talked about, especially by somebody that doesn’t know me. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m really not comfortable doing interviews in a group, in press conferences. One-on-one, I’m all right, but those press conferences at the All-Star Game, I just don’t… I feel better when I’m by myself. Ken Griffey Jr.
I didn’t start playing golf until ’94, when the strike cut the season short. Never having played as a kid definitely makes it a challenge. Ken Griffey Jr.
My dad wasn’t a power hitter, and I didn’t think I’d be a power hitter because the person I wanted to be like was him, and he was the one that taught me to play the game. Ken Griffey Jr.
A lot of my friends and guys who I have watched and grew up with and who have been at my house are Hall of Famers, and I just know them as Ozzie Smith, Eddie Murray, Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield… I know these guys like my older brothers and uncles, the guys who took care of me. Ken Griffey Jr.
I put up O.K. numbers – not Bugs Bunny-style numbers like some other guys – but O.K. numbers. Ken Griffey Jr.
I never want to be satisfied. Ken Griffey Jr.
Nobody wanted to run back kicks until you saw Billy ‘White Shoes” Johnson. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’ve always wanted to be on a winning team, be competitive and have something to shoot for in October. It’s never been a money situation. Ken Griffey Jr.
You can’t sensationalize a story that is a heartfelt story. Ken Griffey Jr.
I just try to keep normal days, day in and day out. Ken Griffey Jr.
Everyone should live where they want. Ken Griffey Jr.
I didn’t go into the Hall of Fame until I was a Hall of Famer. Three times I had been there, I never stepped foot inside. Ken Griffey Jr.
That’s the best thing about playing defense. I get to see somebody else but myself get mad. Ken Griffey Jr.
I was just putting way too much pressure on myself. I was just trying to get that validation from my dad. It got so bad I remember my high school coach telling him not to show up to games. Ken Griffey Jr.
I like how in little league they have nine kids who play the field but we have 17 kids on the roster and all 17 kids should hit. I like that we do that down here in Florida. Ken Griffey Jr.
The Hall of Fame is pretty good at preparation and getting you ready for what to expect. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’ve been taking pictures at Trey’s games since he was seven. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’d have probably gone to Michigan. Only because one of my friends, Vada Murray, who passed away, went to Michigan and as a freshman and sophomore he was my big brother at Moeller. Ken Griffey Jr.
It doesn’t bother me that I didn’t get all the recognition. It really doesn’t. I tried to keep things as honest as possible. People will either appreciate it over the years or they won’t. Ken Griffey Jr.
My dad hit 152 home runs and that’s the person I wanted to be like. My hero growing up. Ken Griffey Jr.
Hard work doesn’t start during the game. Hard work starts the night before. Ken Griffey Jr.
I came up as a number 2 hitter. My first year I hit 16 homers, and I was like, Whoa, I’m rollin’! Ken Griffey Jr.
It’s not so much what one person does. It’s what we do as a team. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’ve been swinging the same way since I was born. It’s always worked. Ken Griffey Jr.
I know my Dad’s a National League guy. I’m an American League guy. I tell him all the time we got better hitters. He’s like well we got better pitchers. I’m like cause you all got those easy outs at the end. Ken Griffey Jr.
There’s certain people that you owe it to, for the things they’ve done for you. Ken Griffey Jr.
If you hit .200 and you win or .300 and you win, it’s all the same. Just so you win. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m lucky. I got a chance to play major-league baseball. Ken Griffey Jr.
My wife is from Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr.
It seemed like my father and I were always fighting. I know a lot of kids go through that with their families, but it was hard for me. Ken Griffey Jr.
It doesn’t matter how much money you make; it’s where you feel happy. Ken Griffey Jr.
If baseball was all year round, I’d play all year round. Ken Griffey Jr.
I don’t know what my numbers are as a DH, but the fact that you’re sitting basically for three hours and 38 minutes of a baseball game, you’re hoping you get four or five at-bats. Ken Griffey Jr.
I can’t help it if I make things look easy that some people think are difficult. Ken Griffey Jr.
No one is perfect. Your ERA is not zero. You’re not going to have 30 wins. And your batting average isn’t going to be 1.000. So you don’t have the right to verbally talk out about somebody. Look at yourself. Did you do everything you could do? Did you start your day off right? Are you perfect? Ken Griffey Jr.
A couple things I’m gonna be remembered for: the hat backwards and the swing. And the smile. Ken Griffey Jr.
I had more offers in football than baseball. Ken Griffey Jr.
That’s not what I want to be known as – a guy who doesn’t want to play and is moody. Ken Griffey Jr.
To win a World Series, the whole team has to be hot, everything has to go your way. Ken Griffey Jr.
I was able to live out my dream of playing baseball, and I’ve got to do the same for my kids and let them live out their dreams of whatever they want to do in life. Ken Griffey Jr.
Out of my 22 years, I’ve learned that only one team will treat you the best, and that’s your first team. Ken Griffey Jr.
I want to be the best player I can be. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m very superstitious. Ken Griffey Jr.
I enjoy photography. It’s a lot of fun. It keeps me on my P’s and Q’s and, when you think about it, most people think photography is just going to a game. But you start to think, dang, that would be a good picture. Or you’re driving along and see something and think, ‘that would be nice.’ Ken Griffey Jr.
The NFL and NBA has done a better job than we have in showing the fun side of the sport, having people talk about it whether it’s on social media, commercials or the news. Ken Griffey Jr.
I don’t think it’s the intent of baseball not to have black ballplayers, but we have to find a way to get these kids back. We lost them to football. We lost them to basketball. We lost them to golf. People don’t see how cool and exciting this game is. Ken Griffey Jr.
I won’t be upset if I don’t win a ring, because I gave it my all. Ken Griffey Jr.
I like to see my name in the box score. Ken Griffey Jr.
Anybody can be a dad. I just want to be a good parent. I want to be a dad that my kids can talk to. I want to have a relationship with them. Ken Griffey Jr.
I do like candy bars, but if I have more than a couple of them I break out. Ken Griffey Jr.
I think that it takes one person in the household to be a baseball fan for people to love baseball. And if you don’t love baseball as a parent, your kids are not going to love it because you’re not watching it. Ken Griffey Jr.
You’re only a first-round pick for one year. Ken Griffey Jr.
Most of the people that I still talk to and hang out with, to them, I’m just Ken. Ken Griffey Jr.
The two misconceptions of me are I didn’t work hard, and that everything I made it look easy. Ken Griffey Jr.
I go out there every day, take early batting practice, fly balls. Ken Griffey Jr.
There are more second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and so on in the big leagues than first-round picks. Ken Griffey Jr.
I got to play with my dad. I got to go to work with him. That’s the biggest thing that ever happened to me other than the days my kids were born. That’s bigger than any record I’ll ever set. Ken Griffey Jr.
My dad had a ‘fro, and I didn’t. So I wore his hat and it always hit me in the face, so I just turned it around and it just stuck. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a tough guy or change the way that baseball is played. It was just that my dad wore a size 7 1/2, and I had a 6 1/4. It was just too big. Ken Griffey Jr.
I know if I do something wrong, it’s going to be all over the news. Ken Griffey Jr.
Nobody wants to win a game on a bad call. Ken Griffey Jr.
When you sign on the dotted line in any sport, your body’s not going to be the same. Ken Griffey Jr.
Baseball and golf have a lot of things in common, including the fact that players in both games love hitting for power. However, in both sports, trying to do so strictly with muscle strength doesn’t work very well. In fact, I see a lot of guys in both baseball and golf struggle when they try to swing with tight arms. Ken Griffey Jr.
A franchise player, to me, is a guy like Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken, a guy who’s been in one organization through their entire career. Ken Griffey Jr.
I just want to play baseball. Ken Griffey Jr.
Kids always think about being the MVP. Ken Griffey Jr.
In baseball, there’s certain things you can call someone: a fossil, graybeard, grandpa, dad, pops. But I got a chance to say it and mean it. Ken Griffey Jr.
I might go 0 for 4 in a game, but I still had a chance to help the team by making plays in the field. Ken Griffey Jr.
Sometimes I’m like, Wow, ‘Criminal Minds’ is deep. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’ll never be that guy who’s going to yell and scream at people. Ken Griffey Jr.
I guess for me, I’ve always lived in the moment, so I don’t allow my brain to focus too far head. I’m a fly-by-the-seat kind of person, but not really. Ken Griffey Jr.
All my life in professional baseball, people said ‘He could be better.’ Ken Griffey Jr.
Playing in the big leagues while my father is still active is the biggest thrill of my life. I try to see him play whenever I can. Ken Griffey Jr.
If I can get on base once or twice a game, steal a bag, do something, then I’m happy. Ken Griffey Jr.
If you ask my wife, she says I play too much golf. I usually play about four times a week. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m damn proud to be a Seattle Mariner. Ken Griffey Jr.
I explained to my kids at an early age: I’m a normal dad with an abnormal job. Ken Griffey Jr.
It’s not what one person does. One person is going to get to be the star of the game. But it might have been the guy who got the guy over that’s the real star of the game. Ken Griffey Jr.
Injuries are a part of the game. Ken Griffey Jr.
You’re on an island when you’re injured. Nobody understands what you’re going through. And everybody’s different. Some people heal quicker than others. Ken Griffey Jr.
Just because I made it look easy doesn’t mean that it was and you don’t work hard and become a Hall of Famer without working day in and day out. Ken Griffey Jr.
I think I owe it to the people of Seattle, and myself, to retire as a Mariner. Ken Griffey Jr.
I grew up in baseball, so I know how hard it is to not have a dad around to see sporting events and stuff like that. Ken Griffey Jr.
I went out there and played as hard as I could because that’s the only way I know how to play. Ken Griffey Jr.
I’m not some person who wants to be treated as a superstar and won’t go out and help the team. Ken Griffey Jr.
You play the game a certain way, and people think your personality off the field should be just as electrifying. That’s not the case. Ken Griffey Jr.
We teach our kids to be fair and things like that and if you make a mistake you apologize for it. Ken Griffey Jr.