Reasons to vote for Junior - #5 He is "The Natural"

From the day Junior first picked up a bat, everyone knew he was going to be something quite special. At such a young age everyone around baseball was talking about The Kid and anointing him as "The Natural". Junior was a common day Stephan Strasburg or Bryce Harper, but so much more.

Of course we all have heard the stories of the young Junior running around the Cincinnati Reds locker-room when his father was a member of the team. But tips on batting and fielding techniques from big stars like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez are not the reason Junior is where he is today. It is Griffey's God given talent.

"He has the rare ability to do what he wants to do out there," said Ken Griffey Senior about Junior's talent on the baseball diamond. As a teenage Junior not only had great talent for baseball, but football as well, as he was offered a football scholarship to Oklahoma.


With Junior’s young talent came a passion for the game, Griffey wanted and used his skills on the field to the best of his ability. Even with his youthful antics and personality he showed the maturity of a veteran player with is devotion to the game. The Seattle Mariners saw this talent and Junior was selected as the No. 1 draft pick in 1987.

Junior’s Young Career Statistics:

1987
Archbishop Moeller High School
.478 AVG/7 HR/26 RBI/13 SB in his senior season
.422 career high school AVG

1987
Bellingham Mariners-Northwest League, low Class A
.313 AVG/14 HR/40 RBI in 182 AB
Named the league's top prospect, Baseball America magazine

1988
San Bernardino Spirit-California League, high Class A
.338 AVG/11 HR/42 RBI in 219 AB
Named the league's top prospect, Baseball America magazine

Vermont Mariners, Eastern League Class AA
.279 AVG/2 HR/10 RBI in 61 AB

1989
Spring Training
.359 AVG/2 HR/20 RBI in 89 AB
He set team spring training records for hits (32), total bases (49), consecutive games with a hit (15) and RBIs (20).

With a marvelous start to Junior’s baseball career (high school, minor leagues and 1989 spring training), there was great anticipation for Junior to start is stint as a big leaguer. On March 29, 1989, Ken Griffey Jr. was announced as the Seattle Mariners starting center fielder for the MLB regular season. From this day forward Junior used his natural abilities to rewritten the record books and become one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Big and great things were not only expected of Junior at a young age but have been exceeded in his majestic 22 year career in the majors. So help put this true talent back into the game that highlights the best, the MLB All-Star Game, and vote for Junior as the designated hitter for the American League.

Vote for Junior