MLB News and Rumors 2016: Ken Griffey Jr. Elected to Hall of Fame of Baseball
Ken Griffey Jr. is one of the most recognizable names in baseball and there is no better way to hand him down what he deserves after a remarkable career than put the man in the Baseball Hall of Fame. That is what exactly 437 ballots revealed on Wednesday.
Before the event in Cooperstown, New York, there was already some talk that Griffey might become the very first player to be unanimously voted to be placed on the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, it seemed like no one is going to be ever voted unanimously after Griffey was left off three of the ballots. But it still made history because of the fact that he got the highest percentage ever.
The 2016 class was up for induction and the entire event was showcased on MLB network, with Griffey heading the list of two players who received at least 75 percent of the 440 Hall of Fame ballots submitted by voters.
Griffey's career has a lot to like and recollect. The player they call "The Kid" played for three teams, the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago White Sox, in a career spanning three decades. He played majority of it in Seattle, where he produced outstanding numbers of 2,781 hits, 630 home runs, 1,662 runs, and 1,836 RBIs, in the process building a loyal fan base in the city.
He left the game after appearing in 13 All-Star Games and earning 10 Gold Gloves, not to mention seven Silver Slugger awards. He became the American League most valuable player back in 1997 and was voted to the MLB All-Century team.
After a long and tedious discussion and debate between the Mariners' former owner George Argyros and team management, they eventually agreed to get Griffey as the top overall pick of the 1987 MLB Draft. That decision eventually became of the best ones the franchise made in its history.
