{"id":17948,"date":"2020-11-19T09:37:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T15:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=17948"},"modified":"2020-11-19T09:37:01","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T15:37:01","slug":"seattle-sports-legend-ken-griffey-jr-and-wife-melissa-become-latest-members-of-sounders-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=17948","title":{"rendered":"Seattle sports legend Ken Griffey Jr. and wife, Melissa, become latest members of Sounders Family"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ken Griffey Jr. joins ownership group for Seattle Sounders<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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SEATTLE \u2014 The Seattle Sounders have added Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. to the club\u2019s ownership group.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Griffey\u2019s ownership stake was finalized earlier in the year, but the announcement had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Griffey and his family make up the second addition to the ownership group this year, along with Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke and his wife, Tara.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Welcome to the Seattle Sounders, Ken Griffey Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former longtime Seattle Mariner and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer became the latest Sounders owner on Tuesday, joining a star-studded group that already includes Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, his wife and singer Ciara and rapper Macklemore.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Griffey Jr., also known as The Kid, hardly needs an introduction. He\u2019s perhaps the city of Seattle\u2019s most famous, accomplished and recognizable athlete of all time. He spent 13 years with the Mariners, from 1989-99 and then again from 2009-10. He finished his illustrious career with 630 home runs and 1,836 RBI, which is seventh and 16th<\/sup> all time, respectively, in MLB history. He was also selected to 13 MLB All-Star Games, won 10 Gold\u00a0Gloves and was the 1997 American League MVP.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nGriffey Jr. and fellow Sounders FC owner Macklemore on the field before the 2019 MLS Cup\u00a0<\/i>| Jane Gershovich<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Griffey Jr.\u2019s decision to join the Sounders was a family one, led strongly by his wife of 31 years, Melissa, who is a die-hard soccer fan and former player herself. He quipped that the concept of stoppage time took him a little while to get used to, but he enjoys how fast-pace and exciting soccer is.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be a part of something, not only for myself, but for my kids to be proud of,\u201d Griffey Jr. said. \u201cThis is it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Griffey Jr. had a special moment at MLS Cup 2019, when the Sounders defeated Toronto FC 3-1 in front of nearly 70,000 fans at CenturyLink Field. He led the crowd in \u201cScarves Up\u201d to boisterous applause, 10 years after he made his return to the Mariners and the same year the Sounders joined MLS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He remembered being at his apartment downtown during one of the first games in 2009 and hearing the noise from the stadium. He had to check to make sure it wasn\u2019t coming from his television.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was loud,\u201d he said of his first impression of the Sounders. \u201cAs a player, when a stadium is loud, that\u2019s what you want. When new things come in, the city is behind you, they want you here.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nAlthough he was raised in Cincinnati, the son of former MLB player Ken Griffey Sr., Griffey Jr. likes to tell people he became a man in Seattle. His wife is from Seattle and his first two kids were born here. He\u2019s still active in the community and donates time with the Boys and Girls Club, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Seattle Children\u2019s Hospital. Joining the Sounders is just another example of him further engraining himself in the city that is special to the Griffey family.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Griffey Jr. wants to make it clear that he and his family\u2019s decision to become part owners is not one that will be treated passively or taken lightly. He is as competitive as they come and grew up in a household where nothing was given, and he had to earn everything. To this day, he won\u2019t even let his kids beat him in a basketball game of H-O-R-S-E. He plans on employing the same mindset that helped him become one of baseball and Seattle\u2019s legends.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n\u201cYou always want to be a part of a winning team,\u201d he said. \u201cTo be on a championship-caliber team and an organization that wants to win and wants to compete and wants to go out there every single game and put the best product on the field, not only for the guys who are in that locker room, but for the 70,000 people who are watching [in the stadium] and the people who are sitting at home watching, that\u2019s important. You want a winner.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n

As for his aspirations with the club, he\u2019s looking to mirror a fellow American League baseball team that has a history and tradition of just that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t play games to be competitive, I play to win,\u201d Griffey Jr. said. \u201cI want the Sounders to be compared to the Yankees. Twenty-seven, 28 championships. That\u2019s what I root for, that\u2019s what I want.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHO IS KEN GRIFFEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed “Junior” and “the Kid”, is an American former professional baseball<\/a> outfielder<\/a> who played 22 years in Major League Baseball<\/a> (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners<\/a> and Cincinnati Reds<\/a>, along with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox<\/a>. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a> and a 13-time All-Star<\/a>, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run<\/a> hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history<\/a>. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards<\/a> in center field<\/a>. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (eight, with Don Mattingly<\/a> and Dale Long<\/a>).<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

Griffey signed lucrative deals with companies of international prominence like Nike<\/a> and Nintendo<\/a>; his popularity reflected well upon MLB and is credited by some with helping restore its image after the 1994 labor dispute<\/a>. <\/sup>Griffey is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in major league games in four different calendar decades<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following his playing career, Griffey joined the Mariners’ front office<\/a> as a special consultant. He was inducted into both the Mariners’ Hall of Fame and the Reds Hall of Fame. In 2016<\/a>, Griffey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a>, receiving 99.32% of the vote, breaking pitcher Tom Seaver<\/a>‘s record of 98.84%,<\/sup> a record that stood for three years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Griffey is the son of former MLB player Ken Griffey Sr.<\/a> and the father of National Football League<\/a> player Trey Griffey<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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