As End Nears, Ken Griffey Jr. Handles New Role

OAKLAND -- Ken Griffey Jr.'s triumphant return to Seattle doesn't have the happy ending the Mariners and their fans might have hoped, but it also hasn't been the failure that his .218 average might imply.

The Mariners had their eyes wide open when they entered into this deal with the 39-year-old Griffey, fully aware of the limitations he might have on the field. They hoped that even if he wasn't producing in the batter's box, he would do so in the clubhouse.

Griffey, who has been hobbled by sore knees all season, said the Mariners talked to him in the offseason about his off-field role, and he was OK with it.

"When you play long enough, they put you in that role," Griffey told FanHouse. "That's fine. I've had the opportunity to help other guys achieve their goals."

Griffey still clowns around in the clubhouse. He will call out anyone. Even though he's can't handle all the physical horseplay he did as a young player, his heart is in the right place.

"I haven't changed," he said. "From Day 1, they wanted me to be the same person, and I have been."

Veteran Mike Sweeney, who has played against Griffey for years, said Griffey has been "one of the best teammates I've ever had in years in the game."

"It's unique to have a guy who's achieved so much on the field and be so humble," Sweeney said. "He's arguably the best baseball player of our time. To be so down to earth and encouraging to the other guys, I've been in awe."

The Mariners, by all accounts, were a bad team last year from a lot of angles. Aside the on-field issues, the clubhouse was full of cliques and finger-pointing. The dramatic change this year is, at least partly, because of Griffey, a player with the juice to influence every man in the clubhouse, including Ichiro Suzuki.

"He helps the old guys, the young guys," bench coach Ty Van Burkleo said. "He's not afraid to say anything."

First-year manager Don Wakamatsu said in a meeting with Griffey before he signed with the club addressed the "potential situations to how the year would unfold, and he was fine with anything. He wanted to come back and be a part of it, to be a leader in the clubhouse."

Translation: the Mariners wanted to know how Griffey would handle it if he was on the bench, asked to contribute more in the clubhouse than on the field.

So far, the answers have been nothing but positive.

Geoff Baker, who covers the Mariners for the Seattle Times, wrote in his blog this week about the way Griffey has united the Mariners.

He's shown the younger players what it is to be and act like a major leaguer. And that's been a full-time job for Griffey. He's worked hard at it. It isn't just a matter of him clowning around in the clubhouse. It's taking active steps to make guys feel included. To help ensure the clubhouse is not dominated by cliques. That players hold themselves accountable for what they do both on and off the field. Accountable to themselves and to their teammates. Ever wonder why this team never seems to stop playing hard? Accountability is the key ingredient to that. And Griffey accomplished all that in his first year back with a club where he barely knew anybody, while at the same time trying to maintain a pro baseball career while dealing with the nagging hurts of a guy who's 39.

Which brings us back to the Griffey on the field. He is no longer the five-tool talent that thrilled baseball fans in the '90s. He can't play in the field. He can't run. Aside from launching the occasional homer, he can't do much of anything.

Part of the problem is simply the calendar. He's 39, and 39 is not what it used to be a few years ago, when steroid- and amphetamine-use was rampant. Now, 39 is old. Griffey's knee hurts. On Friday he was in the lineup, but his knee flared up and he was scratched.

When asked what he thinks he could do if he was healthy, he said: "I don't think about that stuff. I think about what do we have to do as a team."

Sounds like a guy resigned to the fact that his best days are gone. Still, it's too early for Griffey to commit to what happens beyond 2009. Griffey said everyone has been pushing him to make a decision on next year, but he's not ready to do that.

"We'll figure it out at the end of the year," he said. "There are some things that have to be done here. we have 30 games to go and that's the most important thing."

Griffey has three kids at home in Florida. The oldest, 15-year-old Trey, played his first varsity high school football game on Friday night.

"It's probably the second quarter now," Griffey said wistfully as he got ready for batting practice, 3,000 miles away.

Don't assume that family needs will encourage Griffey to retire. It was his kids that convinced him to come back and play this year. What is certain is that his decision will largely be based on what's best for them.

"That's my No. 1 priority," he said.

Next year he'll be imparting the wisdom of his age, showing young people the right way to go.

Whether they are his three kids or his 24 teammates remains to be seen.