Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer on the Impact of Rickey Henderson

Jul 9, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Former first-round draft pick Ken Griffey Jr., announces the Pittsburgh Pirates first pick of during the first round of Paul Skenes during the MLB Draft at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Seattle Mariners legend and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. made his MLB debut on April 3, 1989 against the A's in Oakland. While there was a Henderson in the lineup that day, it wasn't Rickey, but instead centerfielder Dave Henderson batting second for the Athletics. Rickey would be back in Oakland after being re-acquired in a trade just a few months later.

At Saturday's Celebration of Life for Rickey Henderson, there were a number of surprise guests and speakers that shared their own stories about how Rickey had impacted their lives. Griffey Jr. was one of those surprises.

As soon as Griffey got on the microphone, he launched into a great story from his childhood.

"I was 15 years old and he accepted me in the locker room. When they say it takes a village to raise a kid, I'm thankful to Rickey and Dave and everybody else that raised me."

He then set the scene for his tale. It was on the backfields of Fort Lauderdale, and the veterans were getting in some late work. He was the kid that wanted to go out there and shag fly balls.

"We go to the backfield and Rickey hit balls to me. And I'm wondering why is he only hitting them to me? Found out Rickey told my dad later on that [Ken Griffrey Jr.} has a special talent. I just wanted to see how far he could go."

Judging by when both Rickey and Griffey Sr. were on the New York Yankees together, this likely took place during Spring Training in 1985. Griffey Jr. would turn 16 later that year, and this was one of only two camps that both Rickey and Sr. were both on the Yankees. New York also used to get ready for the regular season in Fort Lauderdale at this time.

Griffey Jr. also talked about the impact that Rickey had on the game of baseball.

"Rickey changed baseball, not just on the field, but how you walk on the field. Everybody sees Rickey as being fast, but he might be the slowest brother depending on what he's doing.

"We were playing, and Rickey loved music. The announcer announced his name, and he got there and he dug in. Then he backed up because he realized that his favorite part of his song was getting ready to come on.

"He backed out, and got back in. I think it was like a minute 30, a minute 40 between the time the announcer announced his name to when he finally swung at a pitch.

"Now we have a ten second introduction from your favorite song. Thanks, Rickey."

While there was a lot of talk about the greatness of Rickey on the field throughout the event, Griffey had an interesting take on how he impacted the game that they both excelled at.

"That man changed baseball forever. To be able to change the way that they draft kids, there is a whole separate category just for people like that."

Rickey was a fourth round pick by the Oakland A's in 1976 and made his MLB debut in 1979.