In front of a capacity crowd at Safeco Field, Ken Griffey Jr. took one more step into baseball immortality.
Following his July 24 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., “The Kid” had his No. 24 uniform number retired, becoming the first player to have his number retired by the Mariners.
To honor Griffey, the field was decorated with his number as navy blue 24s were painted down both baselines and in center field. Each Seattle player and coach wore the number on the back of his warmup jersey, and many players took their tributes a step further by wearing their hats backward during batting practice — a nod to Griffey’s signature look.