HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE KID?
Team USA hitting coach Griffey dispenses quips, tips
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ken Griffey Jr. stands behind the batting cage Tuesday afternoon at Salt River Fields, studying Team USA catcher Kyle Higashioka’s swing, and giving him feedback between rounds of batting practice.
Suddenly, Higashioka is locked in, crushing the ball on every pitch.
“That’s a Michael Jackson right there!’’ Griffey yells.
Higashioka, stops, and looks back. “Michael Jackson?’’ he asks. Griffey: “Yeah, Off the Wall. (Jackson’s 1979 album). Get it?’’
Higashioka laughs, shakes his head, swings at the next pitch, and drives it over the left-field fence.
“That’s got a chance to make 65,000 happy,’’ Griffey says, “or 65,000 pissed off.’’
And so it goes like this every day during batting practice since Team USA’s arrival into town, with the players listening to Griffey’s advice, laughing at his jokes, and mesmerized by his stories.
Griffey, 53, who hasn’t put on a uniform for this length of time since he retired from the Mariners in 2010, and inducted five years later into the Hall of Fame, is Team USA’s hitting coach.
It’s the first time he has coached a soul since his kids grew up, and now that his competitive juices are going, well, it’s got a man thinking.
“I may be coming out of retirement in three years,’’ Griffey tells USA TODAY Sports. “I may have to play in the 2026 WBC. I’ve got to defend my batting title.’’ Batting title?
“Yep, look it up,’’ he says, “I hit .524 in that first WBC.’’
Sure, enough, he did, while also hitting two doubles, three homers and 10 RBI in just 21 at-bats.
Yep, just another reason why he’s idolized by every single player on the United States team, with players and coaches from opposing teams in the tournament nearly hyperventilating just seeing him across the field.
When USA played an exhibition game against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium last week, Griffey drew so much attention from the fans, he nearly had to leave the ballpark. Even wearing a sweatshirt without his name at the WBC games at Chase Field in Phoenix, he tries to stay out of sight, hoping not to draw attention.
“People from all walks of life come up saying they watched you grow up, thanking you, and whether they take a picture or want me to sign something,’’ Griffey says, “it’s a highlight for them.
“Well, it’s cool for me, too.’’
Hey, there are plenty of hitting coaches in the game, but as Griffey points out, with a pair of Nike Men’s Air Griffey shoes: “You got to be a bad man to be a hitting coach with your own shoes.’’
Everyone laughs, but not nearly as hard as White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson’s reaction the other day when Griffey blurted out: “You know I built my home with no kitchen.’’
Anderson looked at him.
“When I hit,’’ Griffey says, “you couldn’t get in there.’’
It’s a miracle Anderson didn’t strain an oblique muscle laughing so hard. That’s Griffey.
He was the face of baseball when he played, a 13-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, seven-time Silver Slugger, an MVP, and a 630-home run hitter. His career also included a short stint with the White Sox in 2008.
Now he’s a hitting coach, a mentor, an icon and a comedian.
“When these guys got here,’’ Griffey says, “I told them you got to check their egos at the door. I told them there was a time when I was batting seventh in the lineup in the big leagues.’’
Griffey broke into a slow, expansive grin, and said, “Now, I didn’t tell I was just 19 years old at the time.’’
Why, when Griffey burst into the big leagues in 1989 with the Mariners, players on Team USA like center fielder Cedric Mullins, 28, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., 22, weren’t born yet.
“I didn’t really see him play, but he’s a role model to damn near every player in this game,’’ Mullins said. “To be able to be under his wing here, for as long as that may be, is so cool.’’
Says Witt: “I know I’ve got his baseball card for sure. A few of them really.’’
Says Higashioka: “I had his Nintendo video game. I wore it out as a 6-year-old.
Says shortstop Trea Turner: “I actually caught one of his foul balls as a kid. He was playing for Cincinnati, and I was at a Marlins game in Miami. It’s the only foul ball I ever caught in my life. I need to find it, because I need him to sign it.’’
Griffey made an indelible impact on the baseball world as a player, and now he’s hoping to leave his legacy as a coach with Team USA.
Reliever Devin Williams reminded Griffey that if he makes the All-Star team this year, Griffey has to come to Milwaukee, spend time with his Brewers’ teammates, and take him out for a nice steak dinner.
“Hey, all of my spots in that town,’’ Griffey says, “have been closed for 20 years.’’
This is the type of banter it has been since Team USA got together, spending $10,000 the first night of town at a Scottsdale steak house, and the rest of the time bonding, trying to quickly come together for another WBC title run.
Who knows, maybe one day, there will be a time when he’s called, ‘Coach Griffey.’’
“I’d have to see,’’ Griffey says. “Maybe just be an intern. That’ll be good enough, ‘Intern Griffey.’
“I’m having fun, a lot of fun, but I’m also pretty intense. This is for two weeks, not eight months. I know I can handle two weeks.
“Any longer, well, who knows. Let me get past this first.’’