Ken Griffey Jr.

George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969) nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, along with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a 13-time All-Star, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (eight, with Don Mattingly and Dale Long). Although popular with fans around the league, Griffey was unable to shake reports of his petulant demeanor throughout his major league baseball career. Griffey signed lucrative deals with companies of international prominence like Nike and Nintendo; his popularity reflected well upon MLB and is credited by some with helping restore its image after the 1994 labor dispute. Griffey is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in major league games in four different calendar decades. Following his playing career, Griffey joined the Mariners' front office as a special consultant. He was inducted into both the Mariners' Hall of Fame and the Reds Hall of Fame. In 2016, Griffey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving a 99.30% of the vote, breaking pitcher Tom Seaver's record of 98.84%. However, Griffey's record was broken three years later by Mariano Rivera, who became the first player to be inducted unanimously. Griffey is the son of former MLB player Ken Griffey Sr. and the father of National Football League player Trey Griffey.