Griffey The Prankster
I have a few things to report from the desert, courtesy of my mom and my boyhood newspaper.
You might have heard before that Ken Griffey, Jr. is quite the prankster. He loves to have a good time and get a laugh. If you live outside of Seattle or you are not a Mariners fan, you might have missed his latest prank against long time friend and Mariners catchers coach, Roger Hansen.
Here is a picture taken recently by my mom at the Mariners main practice field in Peoria, AZ…
…and here is the story of the prank as told by Kirby Arnold of the world-renowned Everett Herald.
But wait…
Hansen isn’t the only member of the Mariners coaching staff to find himself in the cross-hairs of Griffey’s prankscope.
My folks actually got to participate in Griff’s recent prank of Mariners pitching coach, Rick Adair.
Here is another photo from my mom…
…and here is the story as told by Larry Larue of the News Tribune.
My mom saw Griff walk into the stadium carrying a big stack of shirts (although she didn’t know they were shirts at the time). When he started handing them out behind the M’s dugout, she ran over and got one. My dad wore it with the rest of the prank accomplices when Adair arrived at the dugout.
Fun times…and what an awesome souvenir for my folks!
I am living vicariously through my parents and wishing we could have made it to a little spring training this season. Oh, the joys of being in Peoria, AZ in February and March…
Maybe in 2011.
Cook & Sons' Baseball Adventures 
Great story!!! By the way, when you come to Dodger Stadium, I will personally buy you an ice cream helmet!
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
Great stories! I love hearing about stuff like that. It’s not widely publicized, but it should be. Makes me wish I was there too!
Brian
Gosh, the scale of Jr.’s prank is extraordinary, just like his home runs!
But who took the original photo? It does not look like a sneak photo at all.
BTW, I was surprised that Roger Hansen was in Japan an instructor with the now-defunct Orix Bluu Wave, Ichiro’s former club.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Roger_Hansen
CAT-
A gracious host! You know, we can get some ice cream on our own. But, hey, if you insist. 😉
BRIAN-
Yeah, I know. They mentioned the big Griffey batters eye picture on the MLB Network airing of a Mariners game recently. But I haven’t heard a word about the Adair shirts other than from my folks (and the article I googled).
NAO-
I know, its crazy. And such high quality. It must have cost a ton. I guess doing large-scale prank is a perk of being a multi-millionaire, future hall of fame athlete. I’m wondering what’s going to become of that picture. Maybe the’ll leave it up for a long time. but if not, where does it go?