Not a Hall of Famer, Griffey Sr. tells Friendly Sons, 'I just played well'

Mar. 15—PLAINS TWP. — Ken Griffey Sr. was the last player chosen in the 1969 Major League Baseball player draft — his future teammate on the Cincinnati Reds, Don Gullett, was drafted number 1 that same year. But the last-drafted Griffey and first-drafted Gullett went on to compile quite a record in Cincinnati. The Reds won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.

Manager Sparky Anderson headed the Big Red Machine, which at its peak featured Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez, and was supported by Dave Concepción, George Foster, César Gerónimo and Griffey Sr.

Griffey was the featured speaker before 460 people in attendance at the 78th Annual Dinner of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Friendly Sons of St. Patrick on Friday at Mohegan Pennsylvania.

A three-time All-Star, Griffey hit over .300 five times for the powerful Cincinnati batting order that was known as the Big Red Machine for their dominance of the National League in the mid-1970s.

In 2004, Griffey was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

On Aug. 31, 1990, the 40-year-old Griffey Sr. and the 20-year-old Griffey Jr. became the first father and son to play as teammates in an MLB game.

Griffey Jr. had a career that put him at the top level of the list of all-time greats — he earned 13 All-Star Game selections, 10 Gold Glove Awards, and seven Silver Slugger Awards, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Griffey Sr., 73, said he doesn't expect to be enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame, despite stats that could land him there someday — he recorded 2,143 hits with 152 homers and a .296 batting average.

"I just played well," Griffey said before heading into the main ballroom at Mohegan Pennsylvania. "I had a lot of fun, and I played on some great teams with a lot of great players."

Griffey said as good as the offense was on those Big Red Machine teams, the pitching was as good as it gets — Pedro Borbón, Clay Carroll, Tony Cloninger, Wayne Granger, Don Gullett, Ross Grimsley, Pat Zachary, Gary Nolan and Jim Maloney, Rawley Eastwick, Will McEnaney and others.

Griffey beamed when he talked about "Junior," who is now 54, saying his grandsons are also doing well in the sports arena.

"I knew when Junior was 14 that he was going to be a good one," Griffey said. "I couldn't strike him out anymore. But I really never knew how good he was until I played with him."

Together with his son, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., the two became the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs while playing together for Seattle.

Griffey Sr. played outfield in the majors from 1973-1991 with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners.

Griffey earned his first All-Star selection in 1976, hitting .336, a career-high. That season, he placed eighth in National League MVP voting.

In 1980, Griffey was again named an All-Star as he posted a .294 batting average with 13 home runs and 85 RBI. He went on to earn All-Star Game MVP honors that season.

He said the toughest pitcher he ever faced was Bob Shirley, his favorite stadium was Riverfront in Cincinnati and Dodger Stadium and his favorite teammates were Perez, Foster and Concepcion. He also had great respect for Pirates slugger Willie Stargell.

Why was Shirley, a lefty, so tough for him?

"He his the ball really well," Griffey said. "I hit a lot of sacrifice flies to left field with nobody on third base."

The Griffeys now live near Philadelphia and they spend a lot of time in Florida near Junior's house.

"I played six years in the minors," Griffey said. "To put that in perspective, Junior had 400 at bats in the minors."

After his playing career ended, Griffey Sr. served as a coach and manager in the Reds organization with the Dayton Dragons and Bakersfield Blaze.

In 2014, he wrote a memoir — Big Red: Baseball, Fatherhood and My Life in the Big Red Machine.

McCarthy 'Man of the Year'

The Friendly Sons honored John McCarthy Jr. as the 2024 "Man of the Year" at the dinner.

McCarthy is best known for his role as president of McCarthy Tire Service. He has held that title since 1997, after his father, Jack McCarthy, a former Man of the Year honoree in 2010, passed him the reins.

McCarthy said his speech would be very short.

"We are here to celebrate our Irish heritage and our families," McCarthy said. "This is such an honor for me and my family. And just walking around this room, talking to friends, there are so many memories brought back"

McCarthy also knows the value of being an integral part of a community. He serves on the boards of Highmark Inc., AllOne Health Resources, AllOne Charities and AllOne Foundation. Past boards have included Ecumenical Enterprises, Earth Conservancy, Villanova Business School and Landmark Bank, along with serving on numerous tire industry councils.

McCarthy is a graduate of King's College with a degree in business administration.

He resides in Shavertown with his wife, Lynn. He enjoys spending time with his son, John III, and his daughter, Rayna. He is looking forward to a new role of becoming a grandfather this May.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.