Ken Griffey Warms Up To $34 Million Mariners’ 4-Year Deal Makes Junior Baseball’s Highest Paid
Ken Griffey Jr. on Wednesday became baseball’s highest paid player. Now he wants to play for a champion.
“I’ve always told the Mariners it’s not a matter of the money,” Griffey said in a conference call from Orlando, Fla. “I’ve always wanted to be on a winning team, to have something to shoot for in September and early October.”
In the meantime, he can take solace in a four-year contract extension worth $34 million.
The contract for the Seattle center fielder has an average annual value of $8.5 million, topping the $7.29 million annual average of the six-year deal Barry Bonds signed with San Francisco in 1992.
“I’m going to be the same baseball player I’ve always been,” Griffey said. “I’m not going to change. I’m always going to smile.”
The extension starts with the 1997 season, meaning Griffey will be under contract with Mariners through the 2000 season.
“I cannot tell you how excited the Mariners organization is to have the best player in baseball under contract through the turn of the century,” Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said.
Griffey gets a signing bonus of $2.5 million. In 1997, he will be paid $7.25 million; in 1998, $7.75 million; in 1999, $8.25 million; and in 2000, $8.25 million.
He is also eligible for other bonuses, including $100,000 if he is named World Series MVP.
“This certainly is a great day for Seattle,” Armstrong said. “What this means is Kenny will be in center field for the Mariners when our ballpark opens in 1999.”
Griffey, 26, appeared in 72 games last season, batting .258 with 17 home runs and 42 RBIs. He missed 73 games after fracturing his left wrist May 26.
For his seven-year career, Griffey has a .302 lifetime average with a Mariners-record 189 home runs and 585 RBIs in 917 games. He was selected to the starting lineup in each of the last six All-Star Games. Last year, he won his sixth straight Gold Glove.
Before signing the new contract, Griffey had complained about Seattle’s cold, damp winters and noted he was building a family home on a golf course near Orlando, Fla.
“I like Seattle, the fans and all,” he said earlier in the month. “But being here (in Florida) where we can go outdoors to hang all the time, every day, is great.”
He left Seattle in December and put his house in suburban Issaquah on the market.
The Mariners reached postseason play for the first time last season, losing to the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the playoffs after beating the New York Yankees.
Faced with a player payroll of $35 million in 1996, the Mariners traded first baseman Tino Martinez, third baseman Mike Blowers and reliever Jeff Nelson.
“I hated to see us break up a good team and a good bunch of guys,” Griffey said. “I care a lot about who I play with. It hasn’t helped to see Tino and Blow go, or Nellie.
“The guys they’re bringing in may be good players, but we just don’t know how it will all fit together. It’s like we’re starting over. The Mariners are always starting over and that gets old.”
On Wednesday, he put a little different spin on it.
“You’re always going to be upset when guys like those type of players leave,” Griffey said. “With the players were got in return, we’re going to be all right.”