Willie Mays Talked Junior Into Seattle

Over the last seven days there seemed to be a lot of back and forth between the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners for the services of one Ken Griffey Jr. Last Thursday the word was that Junior was going to be returning to Seattle, and the only thing in the way was passing a physical. A few hours later, Griffey came out and said the report wasn't true.

Then on Tuesday the report was that Griffey was going to Atlanta where he could be closer to his family, as he'd reached a contract agreement with the Braves and was just waiting to pass a physical. Once again, a few hours later Junior said it wasn't true. Finally on Wednesday Ken signed with the Mariners, but who helped him decide between legacy and family? Well, any bitter Braves fans should probably direct their ire at the great Willie Mays.

It was during the drive down Loop 101 that [Mariners President Chuck] Armstrong got a call from former Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds, now an analyst for MLB Network.

"Harold wanted to know if I wanted to talk to Willie Mays," Armstrong said. "He wanted to know if it was an imposition. An imposition? He's conceivably the best player of all time. Who wouldn't want to talk to Willie Mays? So he gave me Willie's number and I called him. And although Willie and I had met a few times, he's talking like we're old friends.

"He goes on and gives me a list of reasons why Junior should finish his career in Seattle. And then he asked if I minded if he called Junior. Did I mind? So I gave him the number, and Ken told me later that he had talked to Willie."

If only Willie would call up Manny Ramirez and tell him to make a decision already.

Harold Reynolds said on MLB Network's Hot Stove Wednesday night that Mays told Griffey "at the end of the day, at the end of your career, your legacy is going to be with the Seattle Mariners" and apparently that hit home with Junior. You know what else probably hit home with him?

I'll bet the Mariners offered more money than Atlanta did.