5 greatest moments of Ken Griffey Jr.'s career
In what became a fitting nod to Ken Griffey Jr.'s memorable career, "the Kid" was elected into Cooperstown on Wednesday after the results of the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot revealed that he received a record 99.3 percent of eligible votes.
Griffey's Hall of Fame resume includes 13 All-Star appearances, 10 straight Gold Glove awards, and the 1997 AL MVP, after he led the league in homers (56), RBIs (147), runs (125), and slugging (.646). The sweet-swinging center fielder would hit another 56 homers one year later.
In a career chock-full of incredible highlights, here are five of Griffey's greatest moments:
The Kid makes his debut
The first overall selection of the 1987 draft made his major-league debut for the Seattle Mariners amid much fanfare on opening day of 1989 against the Oakland Athletics, and he made quite the first impression on baseball.
In his first big-league at-bat, he hammered a double into left-center field off of Dave Stewart, the Athletics' menacing ace, for the first hit of what would become a storied career.
Back-to-back jacks with Dad
In a feat that may never be duplicated, Griffey and his father, Ken Sr., hit homers in consecutive at-bats in the first inning of the Mariners' game against the California Angels on Sept. 14, 1990 off Kirk McCaskill.
The Griffeys became the first father-son tandem in major-league history to connect in the same game.
First MVP in Mariners history
After six seasons of garnering MVP consideration but coming up empty, Griffey Jr. earned his first and only MVP in 1997 after a monstrous season in which he hit .304/.382/.646 and led the American League in home runs, RBIs, and runs. He also earned his eighth All-Star appearance, eighth Gold Glove, and fifth Silver Slugger.
The outfielder became the first MVP in Mariners history; Japanese import Ichiro Suzuki would win the franchise's second MVP in 2001.
500th homer on Father's Day with Dad looking on
After a tremendous reign in Seattle, Griffey Jr. was traded to his hometown Cincinnati Reds in 2000; although his career with the Reds wasn't as fruitful as his time with the Mariners, he was still effective when healthy.
Griffey Jr. would celebrate one of the greatest moments of his career as a Red when he launched his 500th home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004, as a smiling Griffey Sr. looked on from the stands in amazement - on Father's Day, no less.
Junior joins exclusive company
June 9, 2008 became a historic date in baseball history when Griffey Jr. added his name to an exclusive list, joining the 600 home run club by belting a long home run to right field off Florida Marlins left-hander Mark Hendrickson.
Griffey Jr. became just the sixth player in MLB history to reach the impressive mark to that point in time, joining Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa.
Jim Thome and Alex Rodriguez have since reached the milestone.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)