Monday, February 21, 2000

Griffey, entourage roll into Reds camp

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BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ken Griffey Jr. made a surprise appearance at Reds training camp on Sunday. (Michael E. Keating photos) | ZOOM |

        SARASOTA, Fla. — Ken Griffey Jr. began his twin transition: Joining his new team and spending more time with family.

        No one could doubt Griffey's sincerity in wanting to play closer to his Orlando, Fla., home after witnessing Sunday's scene at the Sarasota Sports Complex.

        Instead of shipping equipment and personal belongings to Peoria, Ariz., to train with the Seattle Mariners, Griffey drove about two hours from Orlando to the Reds' spring headquarters. Griffey and his wife, Melissa, each took a car because they'll frequently shuttle between here and Orlando.

        As Griffey unloaded gear and chatted with Reds officials, his 4-year-old daughter, Taryn, bicycled around the parking lot. She was joined by her 6-year-old brother, Trey, after he helped Griffey pack his locker stall.

        “Seattle gave me an opportunity to fulfill my goal, and that was to play major league baseball,” Griffey said. “Now ... I've got some other goals.” One of them is darting back to Orlando on Friday to take Trey to a monster truck show.

        Griffey discussed family as much as baseball after appearing in a nearly deserted Reds clubhouse around 3:15 p.m., a day before his expected arrival with other position players.

        “It's a little different,” said Griffey, staring at the clothing in his locker. “Everything I've had for the last 11 years has been blue and it's now red.”

        Asked if the Feb. 10 trade that returned him to the city of his boyhood had sunk in, he replied, “Yeah and no. No, because I haven't run out on the field yet, but yeah, because I know where I'm going to be.”

        The 10-time All-Star center fielder also knows that he won't become a stranger to his family after signing a nine-year, $116.5 million contract with the Reds. He spoke of preparing oatmeal for his kids and watching them play their own sports, which he should get to do more often. Though Griffey's family stayed with him in Seattle during the season, Trey's passage into school age made the long journey from Orlando difficult.

        “They get to make more trips into Cincinnati, because it's a two-hour flight (from Or lando),” he said.

        Griffey emphasized that he held no grudges against Seattle. “I met my wife there; both of my kids were born in Seattle,” he said. “... We compromised, my wife and I. Eleven years in Seattle, then the next nine in Cincinnati.”

        Griffey recently became aware that his first year in Cincinnati has created plenty of excitement, demonstrated by the Reds' increased ticket and merchandise sales. He said, “I have some cousins who flew in this past weekend, and they were yelling at me. They said, "It used to be a peaceful neighborhood until you moved in.' ”

        Reds General Manager Jim Bowden added to the hubbub as Griffey began speaking to a handful of reporters. When one of them asked how it felt to fill his locker with Reds gear, Bowden, unable to control his enthusiasm, burst in: “It feels great, he said! It's awesome! He can't wait to finish his career in Cincinnati! On his way to the Hall of Fame, baby!”

        Griffey will find some relief when he actually puts on a uniform. “That's the big thing. I just enjoy playing baseball,” he said. “When I'm on the field, I'm pretty much OK.”

        The Reds' eagerness to welcome Griffey is mutual.

        “I'm looking forward to playing with these guys. I've heard so much about them,” he said. “Plus having my dad here (bench coach Ken Sr.), to give me scouting reports and things like that. He really enjoyed being with these guys.”

        Griffey even received help from one new teammate as he headed here from Orlando on I-75.

        “It's weird, driving over here and (saying), I have no idea where I'm going,” he said. “I've been over here twice because I came to see Dad. Then I ran into Mark Lewis on the highway and followed him straight here.”

       

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