SEATTLE — Ken Griffey Jr.’s retirement statement Wednesday left a few things up to interpretation, particularly the part where he stated that nobody from the Mariners’ front office asked him to retire.
Could there have been pressure to retire from the clubhouse? Manager Don Wakamatsu said no.
Wakamatsu, who sliced Griffey’s playing time to a miniscule amount in the past few weeks, said Thursday that he didn’t ask Junior to step away.
“That’s not my place,” Wakamatsu said. “His name is much bigger than mine will ever be, and to honor Ken I would never do that. That was something that Ken had to decide on his own.”
While the Mariners remained a team coming to terms with playing without Griffey, a report surfaced saying he will soon have a long-term role with the team. Agent Brian Goldberg told the Associated Press that Griffey wouldn’t have an in-uniform position with the Mariners, although it could develop into that.
The Mariners said that while they welcome Griffey’s involvement, it’s too soon to define his role.
“I haven’t had much discussion on … where he would fit in,” Wakamatsu said. “But I know he would be welcomed back in a lot of different capacities with open arms.”
Wakamatsu acknowledged having conversations with Griffey in the past few weeks, but those were about the manager’s plan to cut his playing time and not about his future in the game.
“Ken and I talked at different points,” Wakamatsu said. “Any manager, when you start to decrease somebody’s playing time, yes, we did have conversations.”
He wouldn’t get specific.
“The conversations I have with players need to stay private, especially with the sensitivity with Ken and his retirement,” Wakamatsu said. “It’s his decision to retire.”
Wakamatsu said it wasn’t easy to turn Griffey from a starting DH to a seldom-used bat off the bench. Griffey’s lack of production left him little choice.
“I’m no different than some of the players in here,” Wakamatsu said. “To not write his name in the lineup was tough. I remember the home runs he had the last week of the season. I remember some of the great ones when he was here earlier. You’re always hoping he can rekindle that. It’s tough for a manager to not write him in the lineup.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
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