NEW YORK — The Seattle Mariners have themselves another Griffey who makes fantastic catches. This one, though, does it on the gridiron instead of the outfield.
Trey Griffey, the son of Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., was selected Saturday in the Major League Baseball draft by the Mariners in the 24th round — fittingly, his father’s old team and jersey number.
It appears the pick on the draftap final day was simply the Mariners paying homage to their former star. The younger Griffey is a wide receiver at the University of Arizona, but hasn’t played baseball competitively since before high school.
The 6-foot-3, 209-pounder certainly has the athletic bloodlines, though, catching 11 passes for 284 yards, including a 95-yard touchdown grab as a redshirt junior last season. The Mariners listed him as a center fielder, just like his All-Star dad.
Ken Griffey Jr. will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame next month, and the Mariners plan to retire his No. 24 this season.
The last day of the draft, when rounds 11-40 are conducted, is usually filled with familiar names. And, this year was no different.
The Los Angeles Angels enlisted Torii Hunter, their former All-Star outfielder, to announce during the draft conference call that they had selected his son, Torii Hunter Jr., in the 23rd round.
The younger Hunter is an athletic outfielder for Notre Dame who hit .182 (2 for 11) with one RBI and two stolen bases while playing in 19 games during his junior season. Like Griffey’s son, though, the 6-foot, 195-pound Hunter has had a bigger impact on the football field as a wide receiver for the Irish football team, catching 28 passes for 363 yards and two TDs last season.
University of Miami outfielder Jacob Heyward, brother of the Cubs’ Jason Heyward, was picked by San Francisco in the 18th round. Heyward was hitting .227 with six home runs and 38 RBIs for the Hurricanes, who were playing Boston College on Saturday and would advance to the College World Series with a victory.
