Ken Griffey Jr. Is Literally Asleep On The Job

The Seattle Mariners have been one of the bigger disappointments in baseball so far, in large part because they haven't had an offense. They haven't had an offense in large part because they haven't gotten anything from DH. They haven't gotten anything from DH in large part because Ken Griffey Jr.'s slugging .234.

That, on its own, is bad enough. This is worse.

The Griffey that a year ago helped build camaraderie in the Seattle clubhouse has taken a leave of absence this season. There have been times during games when he’s retired to the clubhouse, texted friends, watched the TV broadcast.
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So why didn’t Wakamatsu go to Junior off the bench?

“He was asleep in the clubhouse,” one player said. “He’d gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn’t come back. I went back in about the seventh inning – and he was in his chair, sound asleep.”

It's important to understand that, as bad as this sounds, it isn't that wild. Players leave the dugout all the time. Pitchers go shower. People hang out and watch TV in the clubhouse. You never want a guy to fall asleep - particularly when he's a potential pinch-hitter - but it does happen, and it seldom makes news. Griffey doesn't deserve the uproar that's already beginning to intensify.

That said, this is certainly the kind of negative press that Griffey didn't need at a time when he's visibly struggling. With his poor performance, the hope was that he was at least a positive influence and role model, but it's hard to read this and conclude that Griffey's setting a good example for his younger teammates. The impression one gets is that he's coasting.

The most interesting angle of all this? Either the possibility of in-season retirement, or the fact that, just a week ago, many were blasting Milton Bradley for "quitting on his team" when he left the stadium during the sixth inning of a game against the Rays. Griffey is the biggest icon in Seattle sports, but it's hard to offer much support when you're asleep in a chair.