Griffey Jr. hits final home run in Kingdome history
Ken Griffey Jr. shined bright during his 10 seasons in the Kingdome, and his performance in the last game of the ballpark’s history was no different.
On June 27, 1999, Griffey Jr. hit the final home run at the Kingdome in front of a sellout crowd before the Seattle Mariners moved to Safeco Field.
The three-run shot came off Texas Rangers righty Aaron Sele with no outs in the first inning. Griffey Jr., hitting between shortstop Álex Rodríguez and designated hitter Edgar Martínez, finished the day 1-for-3 with three RBI, two walks and two stolen bases as the Mariners won 5-2.
“I wasn’t trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark. I just got lucky,” Griffey Jr. told the Corvallis Gazette-Times about his first inning at bat in an on field postgame celebration.
Griffey Jr. had battled a sinus infection that weekend and had to miss the first game of the series on Friday. But he didn’t let that affect him on defense, either, robbing what could’ve been a home run from Juan González in the fourth inning on Saturday.
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“It was kind of strange,” Mariners teammate Jay Buhner said to the Associated Press after the game. “It seems like it was scripted into the whole deal. It was almost like it was supposed to happen.”
The Kingdome, originally named the King County Domed Stadium, served as the home of the Mariners from 1977 until June 1999. Safeco Field was nearing completion just a block away and eventually opened to host the Mariners on July 15, 1999.
The change in ballparks made no difference to the sweet-swinging lefty. Griffey Jr. led the American League in home runs in 1999 and finished Top 10 in the AL in runs scored (123), total bases (349), home runs (48), RBI (134) and slugging percentage (.576).
During his time at the Kingdome, Griffey Jr. was no stranger to big moments. As a 19-year-old, he homered off White Sox pitcher Eric King in his first Kingdome at-bat in 1989, making an immediate impression on Seattle fans. Nicknamed “Junior” or “The Kid”, Griffey Jr. wowed fans with spectacular catches and long home runs.
He was also a part of one of the most iconic moments in Mariners franchise history. With their season on the line in Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS, Griffey Jr. raced around the bases from first on a double by Martinez. Griffey Jr. would slide in safely and throw his arms up in the air as the Mariners headed to the ALCS.
It was only fitting that he would hit the final home run in Kingdome history. In 715 games at the Kingdome, Griffey Jr. hit 198 home runs the most in any ballpark in his career. He also hit .310 and recorded 564 RBI there.
The Mariners traded Griffey Jr. to the Reds on Feb. 10, 2000. He would play for the Reds (2000-08) and the Chicago White Sox (2008) before returning to the Mariners for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
During his career with the Mariners, Griffey Jr. won 10 straight Gold Glove Awards, seven AL Silver Slugger Awards and the 1997 American League MVP Award. In total, he would be named to 13 All-Star games and received MVP votes in 10 seasons.
In his 22-year big league career, Griffey Jr. totaled 630 home runs and led the league in home runs four times. The No. 1 overall pick of the 1987 MLB Draft, Griffey Jr. finished his career as a .284 hitter.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, receiving 99.3 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the highest percentage of any Hall of Famer in history.
Steven Walters was a public relations intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
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