SEATTLE -- Mike Fassio knows he's had a very nice career as an attorney. It’s a job he truly loves. But despite his love for his current role, Fassio had his dream job in 1993 when he was only 16 years old.
He was a bat boy for the Seattle Mariners.
“I played baseball. I was a big Mariners fan. I applied for a job to be the Mariners bat boy, and I was lucky enough that there was an opening. I was lucky enough that I got the job,” Fassio said with a smile. “It was exciting to be in that clubhouse.”
Fassio felt fortunate to get to know many of the players including Jay Buhner, Tino Martinez, and Randy Johnson, but his favorite player by far is Ken Griffey Jr.
“He was the best player I ever saw,” Fassio said. “The way the ball exploded off his bat, his speed around the bases, the way he patrolled centerfield and made the catches and then could throw a guy out. He had all the tools and made it look easy.
“I think without Ken Griffey Jr. we may not even have a baseball team. He was our first nationally recognized superstar for the Seattle Mariners,” Fassio added. “He put the Seattle Mariners on the map.”
His favorite Griffey moment came in one of the centerfielder’s historic at-bats. In 1993, Griffey had the chance to tie a Major League Baseball record with a home run in eight consecutive games. Fassio was there as Griffey came to the plate and smashed a home run to deep right field.
“I have one job at that moment. Grab the bat,” Fassio said. “My one job was to grab the bat and get out of the way before he crossed home plate.”
Fassio was able to pull it off. After grabbing the bat, he handed it directly to the Hall of Fame staff. Now more than 20 years later Fassio is hoping to reunite with that bat when he goes to Cooperstown for Griffey’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday.
Regardless of whether he is able to reunite with the bat, Fassio knows that he wants to be there when his favorite player becomes a member of the Hall of Fame.
“Not only did he make it look easy, but he had fun, and that was part of what attracted people to Ken Griffey Jr,” Fassio said.
And speaking of fun, he will never forget the fun he had in the dugout watching his favorite team in 1993.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs since, but nothing will ever top being 16, being a bat boy, wearing the Mariners uniform,” Fassio said with a laugh.
He plans to wear the Mariners uniform Sunday for Junior's induction.
KING 5's Alex Rozier will be in Cooperstown, New York, this weekend reporting on Ken Griffey Jr's Induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter @AlexRozkierK5
