Groz: M’s — and Seattle — captured lightning in a bottle with Griffey

We’re still without major professional team sports in America, so instead it’s the “season of the documentary,” according to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Dave “The Groz” Grosby. On Sunday, it was Ken Griffey Jr.’s turn.

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The latest documentary was the MLB Network’s “Junior,” which was, of course, about the life and career of the first player to go into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a Mariners cap on his plaque. The program covered the many highs and lows Griffey encountered in baseball, and as you might be able to guess, most of the highs came in Seattle.

You can’t tell the whole story about Griffey without covering the period after he left Seattle, however, which came about when he requested a trade from the Mariners to go home to Cincinnati. He spent eight-plus seasons with the Reds, but that tenure was filled with injuries, and only three of his 13 All-Star nominations came during his time in the National League.

In this week’s Just A Minute, The Groz breaks down how the Mariners were actually fortunate to part ways with Junior when they did, and the reasoning he sees for why Griffey’s body broke down while with the Reds.

For more on Griffey and the documentary, check out this piece from Mariners insider Shannon Drayer.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s The Groz on Twitter.

More Mariners and baseball coverage from 710Sports.com

• How Mariners second-rounder DeLoach unlocked his ‘pure left-handed swing’
• Mariners’ African-American players telling their stories at a critical time
• Gallant: How did it feel when Griffey and other Seattle sports stars left town?
• Mariners third-rounder Kaden Polcovich has work ethic, drive and tools
• Mariners draft: Superlatives for all six selections from 2020 MLB Draft

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