If you grew up in the nineties and like baseball, there is a pretty good chance you became an MLB fan by watching Ken Griffey Jr. play.
The former Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds legend was the idol of an entire generation of kids.
Lots of them actually imitated that beautiful left-handed swing at home, all day.
For a moment, now retired and at 53 years old, the “Kid” took his bat and went to the plate.
The hitting coach of Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Griffey took us all back to our childhood when we admired his swing.
He actually made some really nice contact.
The Kid stepped into the box today…💥
NTT #BallparkCam | @USABaseball | #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/SzUtgXPJ20
—MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 17, 2023
You can see players look up to him, and respect his excellent MLB career.
Everybody was paying close attention to the few hacks he took.
He still has it, to be honest!
He has been doing an excellent job as the Americans’ hitting coach in the tournament.
In four games so far, they have scored a solid 26 runs.
Of course, having players such as Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Kyle Tucker and JT Realmuto, among many others, helps a lot.
But having Griffey to give you hitting pointers doesn’t hurt, either.
The guy hit 630 home runs and could have reached 700 if it weren’t for so many injuries he suffered late in his career.
He also retired with a .907 OPS, an MVP award, and multiple Silver Slugger awards.
He has been a Hall of Famer since 2016, when he was voted as a first-ballot entry.
NEXT:
Cardinals Prospect Jordan Walker Learns A Valuable Lesson