Ken Griffey Jr. has been in hibernation ever since abruptly leaving the Mariners back in June, but the passing of legendary Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus brought him out of hiding. He joined Shannon Drayer and Matt Pitman on ESPN 710-AM to share some thoughts on the man loved and respected by so many -- including the Mariners players.
Here are some of the highlights.
On how Niehaus treated people: "You didn't know if he was the No. 1 guy on the team or the No. 25 guy on the team, he treated everyone the same."
How he found out: "My dad called me, and you could hear in my dad's voice. He was like, 'Did you hear?' And I was like, 'Yeah.' He asked if I was all right, and I said, 'Yeah, I'm all right.' "
On hearing his calls: "I would go home and my friends would call me and tell me about the home run and would be like, 'Did you hear the call?' And I was like, 'No.' A couple times I'd go home after I hit one and I'd listen and just start laughing. If I would've jumped up and down and he would've said a ball was hit, it's a home run, game over. He made everything so exciting and he was so personable. It's just crazy that were having this discussion for somebody who there's not one person in Seattle that wanted this day to happen."
Overall thoughts: "He's one of the greatest men I've ever met and had the privilege of knowing. Everything that he's done, from going to school, the charity work. He is Mariners baseball. Everyone talks about all the players; we can't hold a candle to that man."
How he handled himself: "It's very rare. He came to the ballpark expecting to win, wanting to win and rooted for his guys. Up there, no matter if we were down 10 runs with two outs, he was still, 'Come on, let's go, let's go."
His way: "They tried to tell him he couldn't be this and that and he said, 'I'm doing it my way.'
His advice for Junior: " 'Just be you.' That's one of the things. Just be you. Sometimes you need to hear it from other people. My dad has always said it -- youre not me, just be you. All he did was reinforce these things my dad has always said. The crazy thing is nobody listens to their dad."
His family: "He's a grandfather, I know he's got three grandkids, but he's got 300 of us. He's surely gonna be missed."
Favorite memories: "Some of the wardrobe malfunctions he'd have. You know, the white prom shoes he buys every year. We kept telling him his wife didn't want to go to prom for like the 50th time. I told him the sun was free so he could get some sun on those legs. It's hard to think that he's gone."
You can listen to the full interview here.