Young Mariners await childhood hero

PEORIA, Ariz. — When Mariners first-base hopeful Bryan LaHair was a teenager, his buddies pooled some cash together for a birthday gift.

They bought him a painting of Ken Griffey Jr. he'd seen while wandering around Cape Cod. Though he'd grown up in Massachusetts, surrounded by die-hard Red Sox fans, LaHair idolized the sweet-swinging Griffey.

"I tried to emulate his swing in high school," said LaHair, a left-handed power hitter. "It wasn't like his. But I had his posters up on my wall."

The painting went up there, too. It's now in the bedroom of LaHair's brother, Jeff, who phoned Wednesday night after the Griffey deal was announced to reminisce about a childhood dream.

"It's really strange because I used to sit there dreaming of being a teammate of his when I was younger," LaHair said. "I mean, a lot of kids probably did that. But for me, it's actually going to happen. My brother called me and reminded me of that."

Mariners young and old reminisced about their favorite Griffey moments and pondered what they'd ask the slugger once he arrives in camp Saturday. The Mariners have planned a 12:30 p.m. PST news conference, then will see Griffey take the field Sunday with his new teammates.

Catcher Jeff Clement had a similar conversation with his brother by phone Wednesday, remembering how he'd pretend to be Griffey during backyard Wiffleball games in Iowa. Clement had been wondering how he'd address his boyhood idol.

"What do you call a guy like that? What do you refer to him as?" Clement asked. "And my brother made the joke 'Just call him Mr. Junior.' "

Younger Mariners can't wait to meet the man who has hit 611 career homers.

"All the younger guys are very excited to have him in the clubhouse," Mariners pitcher Ryan Feierabend said. "A lot of the guys looked up to him. The guys I'm talking about are guys who watched him in the home-run derbies, stuff like that. As far as the veterans, I'm sure they're just as excited as we are."

Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre said the healthy respect most of the players have for Griffey bodes well for the clubhouse.

"He can show people how to play the game and make sure nobody steps out of line," Beltre said. "Even if he doesn't say anything to anybody, he's headed to the Hall of Fame. I think the young guys are going to take a look at him and try to be like him."

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu, who met with Griffey and his wife, Melissa, for two hours Sunday in Peoria, said he feels no undue pressure managing someone of his stature. Wakamatsu will monitor Griffey in spring training and start to figure out how much time to give him in the field versus a designated-hitter role.

"He knows his body," Wakamatsu said. "He knows he's a guy toward the end of his career. He's going to let us know and we'll let him know when we get down that road."

Pitcher Miguel Batista plans to pick Griffey's brain.

"Talking to great hitters is how you learn to pitch," he said. "I believe he's going to help everybody here."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com