Once Upon a Time, Ken Griffey Jr. Could Have Been With Pirates

With the Seattle Mariners in town at PNC Park this weekend, I can’t help but think about Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. 

Even to this day, Griffey is still one of my favorite players to watch, and I didn’t even get to see him in his prime. Between his smooth left-handed swing, light-tower power, and web-gem plays made in center field, watching old Griffey highlights never gets old. 

Griffey spent the first 11 years – and the final two – of his 22-career in Seattle. He was an All-Star in each of his final 10 seasons in his first stint with the Mariners and was named the 1997 American League MVP.

After his storied career was over, Griffey was inducted into Cooperstown having received 437 of 440 votes (99.3%), which at the time was the highest percentage of votes in Hall of Fame history. 

Though he emerged as one of the game’s very best with the Mariners, the beginning of his career could have easily come in a different uniform, and its colors are black and gold.

Had it not been for an old rule in Major League Baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates would have had the first pick in the 1987 draft. The Pirates finished the 1986 season with a 64-98 record, three games worse than the Mariners’ 67-95 showing that season. However, MLB used to alternate the first pick between the American and National League. 

Instead of having the first pick to take Griffey, the Pirates landed on high school outfielder Mark Merchant with the second selection. Merchant played 11 minor-league seasons, primarily with the Pirates and, coincidently enough, the Mariners. He never made it to the big leagues. 

If not for the odd rule that was in place at the time, the Pirates’ franchise history could have looked a little bit different.

The start of Griffey’s major-league career coincided perfectly with the Pirates’ teams that won three-straight National League East titles from 1990-92. Griffey made his debut with the Mariners in 1989 and was an All-Star in all three seasons from 1990-92, won three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger. 

So in essence, the Pirates could have had Griffey and Barry Bonds – two of the most feared left-handed batters in baseball history – in the same lineup while patrolling the same outfield at the same time. In their careers, Griffey and Bonds combined for 5,716 hits, 1,392 home runs and 3,832 RBIs. 

The already fearsome lineups for the last three division-winning Pirates’ teams would have been even more so. 

Instead of having five World Series championships to their name, maybe the Pirates would have added at least one trophy instead of just missing out on a World Series appearance, whether by a few games or a few inches. 

The thought of the possibility is fun to think about, and at the same time depressing considering what transpired over the ensuing three decades. 

At least when the Pirates had the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft in Seattle, Griffey was the one who announced Paul Skenes as the first selection. Perhaps that serves as some consolation for what could have been all these years later.