Before Ken Griffey Jr., there was Dave Niehaus, basking on the Cooperstown, N.Y., stage as the first blue-blooded Mariner to earn recognition at the Hall of Fame.
“Fantasyland,’’ he called it, and never has their been a more appreciative honoree than Niehaus when he received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting achievement during the 2008 induction ceremony.
Now it’s Griffey’s turn to take the hallowed stage Sunday, and on this day of joy and reverence, there’s just a tinge of sadness that Niehaus will not be there to see it. They are the two icons of Mariners baseball, and developed an unlikely but unbreakable friendship over the years that transcended their differences, generational and otherwise.