Ken Griffey Jr.: Baseball Player, Businessman, and Fan Favorite

Whether you like baseball or food (more on that later), Ken Griffey Jr., is one of the most popular celebrities in sports today. "Junior" or "the kid" as he is commonly called, currently plays on the Cincinnati Reds since the 2000 baseball season. Before that, he played with the Seattle Mariners from 1989 - 1999. He is also the owner of the Official All-Star Café located near Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; where much of his game memorabilia is displayed.

While many baseball players, feel that the game is "in their blood" from the day they are born, this is really true about Griffey Jr. His father, Ken Griffey Sr., used to play professional baseball for the Cincinnati Reds. In addition, Griffey Jr. shares the same birth date and birth place as baseball legend Stan Musial. However, Griffey Jr., had some accomplishments of his own that made him a recognizable player off the field including being featured in several Nintendo games, having a Wheatie's cereal box with his photo on it, and having his own shoes line through Nike. Like many other baseball players, both past and present, Griffey Jr. has made an appearance on The Simpsons. Griffey Jr. also likes to reach out to his fans, no matter where they are. An example of this happened on August 30, 1998, when he signed a ball for a fan that had illegally run on to the baseball field.

Professionally, Griffey Jr. won the 1997 American League Most Valuable Player Award. He was also elected to the Major League Baseball All Century Team, and was elected to represent the United States at the World Baseball Classic. One of his best accomplishments has to be is appointment at #93 on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players. Some of Griffey Jr.'s statistics and places in the record books have yet be updated at the close of the 2006 season, however, his actual numbers (in bold) reflect the close of the 2006 season.

Games played - 2234 (total at the end of the 2006 season)
Runs - 1467 (77th place the beginning of the 2006 season)
Doubles - 449 (tied for 100th place at the beginning of the 2006 season)
Home runs - 563 (tied for 12th place at the beginning of the 2006 season)
Runs batted in - 1608 (39th place at the beginning of the 2006 season)
Walks - 1077 (tied for 86th place at the beginning of the 2006 season)
Slugging average - .557 (19th place at the beginning of the 2006 season)
On-base slugging - .931 (32nd place at the beginning of the 2006 season)