10 Griffey moments in Seattle

1. Sept. 14, 1990: Of the 398 homers Griffey hit with the Mariners, he always called this one off Kirk McCaskill in Anaheim, immediately following a home run by his father, his favorite.

It was certainly the most emotional. No father and son had ever played together, let alone hit back-to-back homers.

In the first inning, Griffey Sr., 40, hit a two-run homer to center field, and Junior, 20, followed with his 36th career homer, also to center. When Griffey Jr. reached the dugout, father and son smiled at each other and embraced.

"Dad said, 'It's about time.' He was the very first person I looked for," Junior said.

2. Oct. 8, 1995: To many Mariners fans, their indelible image of Griffey will always be of him buried under a pile of teammates, having scored from first on Edgar Martinez's epic double off Jack McDowell in the 11th inning of Game 5 of the A L Division Series.

"I'm still a little upset about Edgar hitting the ball down the left-field line," Griffey quipped in 2004. "He could have just hit it out of the ballpark, and I wouldn't have had to run."

3. May 26, 1995: It was a moment both gruesome and spectacular when Griffey climbed the Kingdome wall in right-center field pursuing a drive by Baltimore's Kevin Bass. He made the catch, one of his best ever — and broke his left wrist, causing him to miss 73 games.

"The first thing I asked the doctor was whether I'd be able to play again," Griffey wrote in his 1997 book, "Griffey on Griffey."

He did, of course — but he had a metal plate and seven screws fastened to the bones in his wrist when he returned.

4. Aug. 24, 1995: The Mariners seemed to be stalled in their efforts to overtake the Angels, having lost four of their previous five games to fall under .500.

They had a players-only meeting before their game with the Yankees, then found themselves down to their last out against closer John Wetteland, trailing 7-6. They rallied to tie the score, then won it on Griffey's two-run homer on the first pitch Wetteland threw him.

"That was the one that got us going," Lou Piniella would tell Sports Illustrated.

5. April 3, 1989: In his first major-league at-bat, facing Oakland ace Dave Stewart, Griffey gave a hint of things to come, ripping a double to left-center. He was 19 years old.

"We're looking at a future great. I think he'll be a real impact player," said Mariners manager Jim Lefebvre prophetically.

6. July 28, 1993: Facing Minnesota's Willie Banks, Griffey launched a home run off the third deck in right field at the Kingdome. But it was more than just another tape-measure blast. It gave him homers in eight consecutive games, tying the major-league record of Don Mattingly (1987) and Dale Long (1956).

7. June 27, 1999: It was only fitting that Griffey hit the final homer at the Kingdome, a three-run blast in the first inning off Texas' Aaron Sele. He also leaped over the fence to rob Juan Gonzalez of a three-run homer as Seattle won 5-2 in the Kingdome's final game. Safeco Field opened July 15.

8. July 6, 1998: At first, Griffey said he would not participate in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star Game in Denver, leading him to be roundly booed when he was presented an award for being the top vote-getter. But Griffey reconsidered and wound up winning the competition.

9. July 14, 1992: In another coming-out moment, Griffey had a home run (off Greg Maddux), double and single in the All-Star Game at San Diego, leading the AL to a 13-6 win and earning the MVP trophy.

10. April 26, 1990: This may or may not have been Griffey's best catch, but it was probably the one that made it clear what a special talent he was in center field. On a drive by Jesse Barfield headed over the fence at Yankee Stadium, Griffey made a leaping grab that still is shown in the highlights.

Larry Stone