SEATTLE -- Ken Griffey Jr's look was unmistakable.
The sweet swing.
The infections smile.
The backward baseball cap.
It's that last one that made him unique. Fans who came out to batting practice or watched Griffey in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby saw The Kid belting them deep into the stands while his bill was pointed behind him.
It drew a little ire from opposing manager Buck Showalter when he skippered the Yankees. Showalter was quoted in 1994 as saying "... a guy like Ken Griffey Jr., the game's boring to him. He comes on the field, and his hat's on backward, and his shirttail's hanging out."
Mariners fans quickly rallied behind Griffey, booing Showalter when the Yankees came to town.
There were rumors Griffey's Hall of Fame plaque might show him wearing the cap backward, but that was quickly shut down.
Griffey recently told ESPN's Mike & Mike that the backward cap wasn't a style thing. It was because of his dad.
"My dad had a ‘fro, and I didn’t,” said Griffey. “So I wore his hat, and it always hit me in the face, so I just turned it around, and it just stuck. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a tough guy or change the way that baseball is played. It was just that my dad wore a size 7 1/2, and I had a 6 1/4. It was just too big.”
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
