Ken Griffey Jr. makes appearance at season opening Seoul Series

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Ken Griffey Jr. makes appearance at season opening Seoul Series

Published: 21 Mar. 2024, 19:41 Updated: 22 Mar. 2024, 10:08

JIM BULLEY
jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr

Ken Griffey Jr., center, helps two Korean little league players throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the Seoul Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

MLB legend Ken Griffey Jr. helped throw out the ceremonial first pitch for Game 2 of the season opening Seoul Series between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Thursday.

Griffey, a towering figure in 1990s and 2000s baseball and the seventh-most prolific home run hitter in Major League history, took to the mound with two members of the Korean team that won the Little League Intermediate World Series last year. The younger stars threw the pitch, with The Kid there for moral support.

Griffey retired in 2010 with 630 home runs to his name and 10 Gold Glove awards. He is one of only 31 players to have played in four calendar decades, having debuted in 1989, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a record 99.32 percent of the vote in 2016.

Ken Griffey Jr. [AFP/YONHAP]

Griffey was also present at Game 1 on Wednesday, where he went under the radar as a photographer. Since retiring, Griffey has taken up sports photography and regularly attends sports events with his camera and press credentials in tow. According to Sports Illustrated, he attended Wednesday's game as a "special photographer."

Prior to Griffey and the little league stars, former Korean major leaguer Park Chan-ho, the first Korean to play in the MLB, threw out the ceremonial pitch for Game 1 on Wednesday.

Former tennis star Billie Jean King, a minority owner of the Dodgers, announced the start of play for Thursday’s game, followed by Seoul Major Oh Se-hoon.

As of press time, the Padres were up 5-0 at the top of the first.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]