Examine The Kid’s baseball DNA, and you’ll find plenty of Hammerin’ Hank.
Heading into an MLB All-Star Game that’s honoring the legacy of Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr. left no question as to his primary baseball influence while growing up with a major league father.
“Hank was the number one guy talked about at my house growing up,” Griffey said. “With my dad being from Pennsylvania and with Willie (Mays playing) out west, Hank was the number one guy I looked up to.”
Griffey spoke Monday afternoon at the Play Ball Park inside the Colorado Convention Center as part of “Unfiltered: Legends and Legacies,” a panel highlighting key moments by Black players in the game and Black baseball players’ impact on the sport, dating back to the Negro Leagues.