Griffey, who turned 40 last November, announced his retirement on Wednesday through the team that drafted him No. 1 overall back in 1987.
"While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction.”
Griffey Jr's retirement marks the first time in 37 years that a Griffey family member is not playing in the Majors. His father, Ken Griffey Sr, started playing in 1973, with the Cincinnati Reds, an organization that Griffey Jr also played for at one point. In 1990, the two Griffey's made history as the first ever father-son tandem to play for the same Major League team, the Seattle Mariners. They hit back-to-back homeruns on September 14th, 1990.
