Griffey's debut celebrating after 30 years later

Ken Griffey Jr

On 3 April, 1989, Ken Griffey Jr. made his Major League debut, going 1 for 3 with a 1st-inning double, hitting 2nd against the A's on Opening Day. The Mariners drafted him No. 1 overall in 1987, and he played 129 games in the Minors in 1987 and '88 before his call up. He had never played a game above Double-A.

Griffey was 19 years, 133 days old, at the time becoming the youngest position player to debut in more than Ten years.

Production at a young age is a key part of Griffey’s succession. And with the prosperity we’ve seen lately from young players in the game, his name comes up frequently in those references. As we celebrate 30 years since his debut, he wants some of the milestones Griffey set along the way.

• When Washington's Soto hit a home-run at Yankee Stadium, he became the smallest player with a regular season home-run at any iteration of Yankee Stadium since Griffey at 19 years, 190 days old on May 30, 1989. Griffey hit 2 home-runs in that game, as did Soto on that night.

• He didn’t win the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1989  that went to the Orioles’ Gregg Olson but he hit 16 home-runs, at the time the 3rd most by a teenager in a single season. It’s now 5th most, with Bryce Harper and Soto debuting and moving ahead of Griffey on that list. He had 2 multihomer games in that 1989 season, 1 of 4 teenagers with multiple multihomer games in a single season -- along with Harper, Soto and Mel Ott.

• When Albies hit his 2nd grand slam last season, he became the 5th player in the Expansion Era with multiple grand slams in a season at age 21. The others? Griffey, Tony Conigliaro, along with Adrian Beltre and Alex Rodriguez.

• Christian Yelich homered in 4 straight games to start the 2019 season, tying the all-time record. But for the most consecutive games with a home-run at any point in a season, look no further than Griffey, who in 1993 tied the record of 8 straight games set by Dale Long in 1956 and also tied by Mattingly in 1987.

Ken Griffey Jr

At the time, Griffey was just 23 years old.

• Speaking of home runs, Griffey is one of only 9 players with multiple 40 homer seasons before his age 25 seasons. Griffey hit 45 in 1993 and 40 during a strike-shortened season in '94.

• He (Griffey) hit homers in the regular season, but he also hit them in July, too during the Home-Run Derby, that is. Griffey won the Home-Run Derby 3 times in 1994, '98 and '99, the most Derby wins of any batter since the event began in 1985.

• And Griffey hit 6 homers in the postseason, all in 1995, including 2 in his 1st career postseason game in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Yankees. At the time, he was 1 of 4 players to hit multiple homers in his postseason debut. He’s now 1 of 9 players to do so. When he hit 6 home-runs that postseason, nobody had ever hit more home runs in a single postseason.

• It isn’t just the home-runs that made he (Griffey) so captivating. He (Griffey) was an all around player, and that included defense, too. Griffey is 1 of 3 players in Major League history with 500 home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards, along with Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt. There are plenty of other accolades, too, from the 1st MVP won by a Mariners player in 1997 to 13 All-Star selections and 7 Silver Sluggers.

• He was inducted into the full Fame in 2016, receiving 99.32% of the vote, at the time the highest percentage from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and now 2nd to Mariano Rivera’s 100%. Griffey was the 1st No.1 overall pick in the MLB Draft to be elected to the Hall of Fame and has since been followed by Chipper Jones and Harold Baines.