Griffey’s last foul ball

I couldn’t resist the urge to write after reading the Ken Griffey Jr. retirement article in the paper (June 3).

We were at the May 31 game when Griffey was called in to pinch hit at the bottom of the ninth. I know it wasn’t a game-winner or anything, but Griffey got on base (fielder’s choice). More important, the first ball pitched to him was fouled and it’s now sitting in a case on my 7-year-old son’s shelf.

I’m not normally too crazy about sports, but this is a memorable experience for us. None of our family had been to a MLB game, so I planned a family road trip Memorial Day weekend and we finished it off with third-row seats near first base. Halfway through the game the family in the front row of our section (118) left early. About the eighth inning, we moved down to the front. This happened to be just in time to be in the right spot for getting the foul ball that Griffey hit.

My son, Jared, is one of the Mariners’ biggest fans and watches all their games when they don’t run past his bedtime. His Little League team, here in Spokane, is also the Mariners. Of course, it was cool to get any foul ball, especially at our first MLB game, but after Griffey announced his immediate retirement (on Wednesday) it got 100 times cooler.

Heather Hoerauf

Spokane