MLB Hires Ken Griffey Jr. To Assist With Development Of Youth Baseball

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In the late 1980s and early 1990s, no player in baseball was bigger than Seattle Mariners wonderkid Ken Griffey Jr.

From making catches against the wall to hitting towering homers with the sweetest swing in the game, Griffey was one of those players who made the game great.

Now in retirement, the Hall of Famer now has a new great task ahead of him. Friday Major League Baseball announced that Griffey has been hired to serve as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner looking to improve diversity and development in youth baseball.

“I am humbled to be asked to work with Major League Baseball in this role,” Griffey said in a statement.

“It will be an honor to represent the best sport in the world and to promote our game among today’s youth.”

The former Mariner and Cincinnati Reds center fielder, who hit 630 home runs in 22 seasons, will serve as an ambassador for the sport at Major League Baseball’s youth initiatives and events.

“We are thrilled that Ken will represent Major League Baseball on some of our sport’s most important stages, alongside our current and future stars,” MLB commish Rob Manfred said in a statement.

“We welcome the perspective and insights that Ken gained as an historic player, as a parent, and as someone who has spent his life in and around our great game.”

Even with all the negativity that sometimes surrounds the game, Griffey has always been one of the good guys. MLB now hopes that his involvement with youth baseball will bring in a younger audience to today’s game.

Griffey entered the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2016 after being named on 99.3% of ballots.

Ken Griffey Jr.MLBRob Manfred

Written by Matt Loede

Matt has been a part of the Cleveland Sports landscape working in the media since 1994 when he graduated from broadcasting school. His coverage beats include the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He's written three books, and won the "2020 AP Sports Stringer Lifetime Service Award."

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  1. I used to love watching Griffey play. I especially loved watching him play on opening day. It seemed like he hit a homerun every opening day. (I Know he actually didn’t hit one every opening day, just saying that’s what it seemed like and still seems like when I remember watching him play). And of course, there were all the amazing catches he made. He was fearless when he went crashing into walls and robbing people of home runs

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