Griffey Just Swell, But Don’t Ask Him When It Comes To His Health, Junior Known To Exaggerate

Ken Griffey Jr. is not dying, which should come as a relief to most everyone - especially the Seattle Mariners.

A few weeks ago in Texas, Griffey was asked about his anemic batting average, and he acknowledged he’d been plagued by the flu lately. He said he’d lost 11 pounds in less than a month and couldn’t gain it back no matter how much he ate.

When Junior’s quotes were published, team CEO John Ellis read them and called trainer Rick Griffin to find out why his center fielder was disappearing - and Griffin fielded a call from a Los Angeles newspaper, too.

“They’d seen the quotes and wanted to know if he was dying, if he had AIDS,” Griffin said. “I told them, ‘This man is completely healthy.”’ A few days later, a national television correspondent wanted to know why Griffey was so underweight. Griffin went to his records to prove once and for all that Junior wasn’t dying.

“His rookie season, he weighed 198 pounds,” Griffin said. “The next year, he weighed 202. The next season, 206. Since then, he’s been between 208-212 pounds every year.”

What’s he weigh now? As of Thursday, Griffey weighed 207 pounds.

“He had the flu, he lost a few pounds,” Griffin said, shaking his head.

Yes, Junior tends to exaggerate occasionally. He did it again in Boston, when someone in the centerfield stands on Wednesday flashed what appeared to be a red light at him.

Griffey called time and brought out umpire Tim Welke.

“He said someone was flashing a red laser at him,” Welke said. “The first thing I asked was ‘What’s a red laser?”’

“If it hits you in the eyes, it can blind you,” Griffey said.

Security moved into the area and “captured” a young fan with a key chain that, when squeezed, emitted a red beam. It was irritating but not especially deadly. Still, teammate Darren Bragg said it had everyone worried.

“The way the world works today, it could have been the laser sight from a gun,” he said. “You see a red dot on somebody’s forehead, it better make you nervous. We didn’t know what the heck they had out there.”