SEATTLE — What’s in a number?
After all, the numerals on the back of a baseball player’s shirt don’t help him run any faster, throw any harder, hit the ball any farther. A player could use a graphic of his favorite Pokemon as identification, and it wouldn’t affect his performance any differently than a number.
Just don’t tell the sellout crowd of 45,618 on hand Saturday night at Safeco Field that a number doesn’t matter. To the Seattle Mariners fans who attended the ceremony as the Mariners retired Ken Griffey Jr.’s No. 24, a number means everything.
Griffey became the first player in Mariners history to have his number retired. The Seattle baseball legend, who graced center field from 1989-99 and returned in 2009-10 to close out his career, slugged 417 of his 630 career home runs with the Mariners. He won 10 Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and made 10 All-Star teams with Seattle. Just two weeks earlier he was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first player ever to go into the Hall as a Mariner.
His accomplishments were such that the Mariners decided his number deserved to be retired throughout the entire organization, not just in Seattle. That means no Everett AquaSox player will ever wear 24 again, even though Griffey never played for the Sox.
And to everyone on hand Saturday, the number 24 was the only one that mattered.
Need evidence?
Just look at those in the stands. Everywhere one looked fans were wearing jerseys and t-shirts with 24 on the back, and they gave Griffey a long standing ovation as he made his long, slow walk from the door in center field to the infield — Griffey gazed around in bewilderment at the level of appreciation he was receiving.
Just look at the local sports legends who chose to attend the occasion. It wasn’t just former Mariner greats like Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and Alvin Davis who showed up. It was also Seattle Seahawks Hall of Famers Steve Largent and Cortez Kennedy, as well as Seattle SuperSonics stars Gary Payton and Spencer Haywood, who chose to pay their respects to Griffey.
Just look at those who sent video congratulations that were played during the ceremony. Among that group were famous 24s from other sports like basketball’s Kobe Bryant and NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon, as well as baseball legends Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Mays even took the occasion to playfully chastise Griffey for not answering the phone when Mays called to congratulate him on his Hall of Fame induction — prompting Griffey to pull out his phone and call Mays on the spot (he left a message).
And just look at the Mariners organization itself. The groundskeeping staff painted brilliant blue 24s along both baselines, as well as a shadowed 24 in the center field Griffey roamed when Safeco Field was first opened in 1999. Before the game the M’s took batting practice with every player sporting a jersey with the number 24. During the ceremony team president Kevin Mather announced a statue of Griffey’s picture-perfect swing will be installed at Safeco next year.
Clearly the number 24 meant plenty to all.
But what does the number mean to Griffey himself?
When Griffey addressed the media the day before the ceremony, he explained how he came to wear 24, saying it happened during one of his high school years when he hit 24 home runs combined between his high school and summer teams. As for what the number means to him now, he pondered for several moments before answering:
“How do you describe it?” Griffey finally said. “Because everything you do in baseball is about numbers. But when you look at some of the greatest players who have played sports, they wear 24. It wasn’t planned. But when I signed my rookie contract, that was one of the things I asked for, to wear 24.
“It’s extremely important,” Griffey continued, adding a touch of mysticism to his answer. “If you look at my first apartment in Seattle it was 11-24. My house number was 24-606. So there’s a lot of things that have to do with 24.”
And this year to coincide with his enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame and his number retirement by the Mariners? It’s none other than Griffey’s 24th wedding anniversary.
The only other number that’s been retired by the Mariners is Jackie Robinson’s 42, a number that’s been retired throughout baseball because of Robinson’s role in breaking the color barrier. Griffey spoke about what that number means to him, too.
“It’s overwhelming, humbling, because of the guy whose number I’m going to be up next to, who basically sacrificed his life for guys to play, and that’s Jackie Robinson,” Griffey said Friday.
“Do I think I’m worth it? No. Just because of what he’s done and what I’ve done. But it’s also an unbelievable honor and something I don’t take lightly.”
Griffey spent most of Saturday’s ceremony trying to keep his emotions in check and wiping tears from his eyes. But he concluded his address to the crowd by directing his attention toward Rickey Henderson, another legendary 24 in attendance who was notorious for his braggadocio during his playing days. Griffey turned Henderson’s way, pointed, and in his best impersonation said: “Rickey, you were the greatest. Today I am the greatest.”
It may have been said in jest, but for we here in Seattle those words could ring no truer. And should we ever forget, number 24 will be hanging off the facade in center field at Safeco Field to remind us.
For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at www.heraldnet.com/tag/seattle-sidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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