There had been many father and son duos to play major league baseball. But none had done so simultaneously until 1989 when Ken Griffey, Jr., entered the American League as a rookie while his father, of the same name, was still employed by the Cincinnati Reds in the National League. Now, a year later, for the first time in baseball history, two generations not only played in the same game but also side by side in the field. In addition, the Griffeys also batted consecutively in the lineup.

Seattle manager Jim Lefebvre, upon acquiring Griffey, Sr., claimed this was no "dog and pony show," and that Ken was actually expected to contribute to the Mariners. Some observers might have thought otherwise, for the 40-year-old, once stellar center fielder for Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" of the mid-1970s, had officially been released by the Reds a week earlier. He had been batting only .206 (13/63) in this his 18th major league season.

Ken Griffey, Jr., meanwhile, was playing in only his second season, having made his debut with Seattle in 1989 at 19 years of age. Junior was expected to be the star around which this young Mariner club would be built and had been fulfilling those expectations. The morning before this game, he was hitting .306 with 17 homers, 15 stolen bases, and 60 RBIs.

Both father and son were somewhat nervous prior to the game, but that dissolved quickly once the action started. When they first took the field, Junior remembered, "I wanted to cry or something. It just seemed like a father-son game, like we were out playing catch in the back yard. But we were actually playing a real game. I just stood there and looked at him (in left). A couple of pitches even went by."* (Bob Sherwin, "Win adds to M's night," Seattle Times, 1 September 1990, section B, p. 5, col. 4.)

"I didn't know what to expect," Senior said. "The first time up was like me being a rookie again. After the first pitch I settled down." (Ibid, p. 1, col. 3.)

Junior described a dinner bet the two had made concerning who would get the first hit. Senior said that his son didn't have a chance, because the elder knew he would be batting before his son in the lineup. True to his forecast, Senior singled in his first at bat; it was his 2,091st hit in his 7,068th at bat. Not to be outdone, Junior also singled behind his father, his 275th career hit. They both eventually scored in Seattle's three-run first, which was all the runs the Mariners needed to win. As Junior entered the dugout after scoring the second run, he was hugged by his father.

When the pair returned to their defensive positions in the second inning, fans in the bleachers gave them a standing ovation, to which Senior tipped his hat.

Senior also showed detractors that he could still play defense when, from deep left field, he threw out Bo Jackson trying to stretch a single in the sixth inning. It was a pivotal play and nipped a budding Kansas City rally. Jackson, at the time, was one of the fastest runners in the major leagues.

Two weeks later the father and son accomplished another first. On September 14, they stroked back-to-back home runs in a game against the Angels.

Perhaps inspired by this consanguine relationship, the elder Griffey regained his hitting stroke and completed his partial season in Seattle hitting .377 (29/77). He played with his son again in 1991, although for only 30 games, before retiring with 2,143 lifetime hits and a .296 batting average.

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