The New York Yankees have never struggled to reel in star players. But one of the biggest names in MLB history vowed to never play for them before his career even started, and he had a pretty good reason not to.
Hall of Fame slugger Ken Griffey Jr. was the subject of the MLB Network's documentary 'Junior', and in it, he explained the exact reason why he never wanted to play in New York pinstripes. According to Griffey Jr., his reasoning stemmed from an incident that took place while his dad was playing for the Yanks in the 80s. The 50-year-old explained that while on a trip to visit Griffey Sr., he was denied entrance into the dugout by a team security guard who was instructed former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to not let kids in. Meanwhile, third baseman Graig Nettles' son was grounding balls at third base.
Here's what he had to say:
Years later, in 2010, Newsday reported that in 1983, Griffey Jr. and his brother were tossed from the Yankees clubhouse because of then-manager Billy Martin:
The following is an excerpt Newsday:
Martin never fessed up and the Griffeys thought owner George Steinbrenner was behind the “no kids in the clubhouse’’ edict and Ken. Jr., carried that notion throughout his career. Later day reports also incorrectly cite Steinbrenner as the culprit.
Steinbrenner, in fact, liked the Yankees’ kids, often patting them on the head in the years when he made frequent visits to the clubhouse.
This is, however, the first time there's been mention of Nettles' kid.
According to FOX, Griffey Jr. batted .311 with a .987 OPS and 36 home runs. Definitely the Yankees loss, and it's tough to blame the superstar for never wanting to play for the organization.
(H/T FTW)
