MANILA, Philippines - Ken Griffey Jr. yesterday paid tribute to the legends that came before him.
“I did look at it,” said the newly retired baseball superstar, referring to the historic walls of the Rizal Memorial ballpark, walls that bore the names of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
It was at the same ballpark, in December of 1934, where the two baseball icons played as members of the Major League All-Stars that took part in an 18-game exhibition tour of Asia.
Ruth and Gehrig, as expected, hit homers during the Manila stop, and on the exact walls where their hits went over their names were painted, to be remembered forever.
Griffey, No. 5 in the Major League’s all-time homerun list with 630 spread over 21 years, said the first thing that struck him at the Rizal ballpark was the wall that carried those legendary names.
“That’s some big names in here and it’s always a plus for me to see somebody that has been on a field and you admire what they have done throughout their careers,” he said.
Only four names are ahead of Griffey’s in the all-time homerun list, that of Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Ruth (714) and Willie Mays (660), and it’s not easy to get there.
Griffey, who can easily be mistaken for a retired NBA superstar, was asked what went through his mind.
“First thing I said was I want to knock it over the other wall. I want to hit over it,” said Griffey who brings his four-day act to Cebu City today and tomorrow before flying out of the country.
So, he did.
The other day, he sent three balls outside the park. Yesterday, he went a little farther, sending one over the walls and over a narrow street before landing at the nearby tennis center.
He almost scored a homerun with a line drive, off a pitch by fellow player Joe Logan.
Then seriously, Griffey talked about the chances of Filipino players making it to the big league. He said the chances are good.
“It doesn’t matter if how big or how small you are. If you got heart to play this game, you’ll do well,” he said.
“And it has been proven by the Japanese on how they play. They’ve won the World Baseball Classic twice, if you execute then you’ll win. It doesn’t matter if you are 5-6 or 6-6, if you can play, you can play.”
Logan shared his own thoughts.
“There’s no doubt that the Filipinos should take up baseball because it’s like life. If you see baseball as a life-learning lesson versus winning and losing, then they’ll be very successful and understand the values of baseball,” he said.
More than a couple of players with Filipino blood have made it to the Major League, including Eugenio Espineli and Tim Lencecum with the San Francisco Giants, and Jason Bartlett for the Tampa Bay Rays.
“We want to share goodwill and ambassadorship in baseball. And we want to share it with Filipinos,” Logan added.