Griffey Breaks Wrist, Fractures Franchise
One of the most spectacular catches of Ken Griffey Jr.’s career could be remembered as the biggest setback in franchise history - the All-Star center fielder broke his left wrist Friday and could miss the rest of the 1995 season.
In the seventh inning of the Seattle-Baltimore game at the Kingdome, Griffey made an incredible defensive play, crashing heavily into the padded fence in right-center field to take an extra-base hit away from Kevin Bass and help preserve a onerun lead.
The impact was immediate. Junior’s grab after a long run and a fullspeed-ahead charge into the wall brought a crowd of 15,256 to its feet and so stunned pitcher Randy Johnson he dropped to his knees on the mound.
The moment he hit the wall, however, Griffey reacted like a man who was badly injured and knew it. Trying to protect his bare hand, he cradled the wrist and started toward the Mariners dugout. When team trainer Rick Griffin reached him in center field, Griffey uttered three words.
“I broke it,” he said.
Manager Lou Piniella, arriving behind Griffin, heard that hasty diagnosis and uttered several words - none of them printable.
The official medical diagnosis came more than an hour later, after X-rays confirmed a fracture in the distal radius and team physician Dr. Larry Pedegana prescribed surgery in which a metal plate would be inserted into the wrist.
Best case scenario: Griffey will miss three months and could return by September. That’s far from certain, however.
Griffey, 25, was playing through one of the worst slumps of his life, and earlier Friday night had singled and homered, the 997th and 998th hits of his six-year career.
A five-time All-Star - and a five-time Gold Glove winner - Griffey is one of the marquee players in baseball and without question the most popular Mariner in franchise history.
That the injury should come now is devastating both to Griffey and the team for which he has played his entire major-league career. The Mariners’ 15-12 record is the best 27-game start in team history.