Ken Griffey Jr. hit his first homer on the first pitch he saw at the Kingdome -- on his dad's birthday
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What did you get your dad for his birthday? A new tie? A pair of tickets to a ballgame? Those are nice gifts, sure, but Ken Griffey Jr. had you beat.
The arrival of "The Kid" in Seattle came with heightened anticipation. But he was prepared to handle the hype, and made that apparent right off the bat ... literally. On April 3, 1989, Junior picked up his first career hit when he doubled off A's ace Dave Stewart:
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Did you catch what Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus said there? "In 20, 25 years from now, you're going to want to say 'I was there when Ken Griffey Jr. made his home debut.'"
Niehaus probably didn't know how on point that statement would prove. Just a week later, Griffey made that home debut at the Kingdome, on his father's 39th birthday.
He hit a home run ... on the very first pitch he saw at his new home ballpark, thrown by Eric King of the White Sox:
A fun flashback for today on Ken Griffey Sr.'s 68th birthday -- and, also, the 29th anniversary of Junior's special birthday present.
And don't forget, father and son both singled in their first game together, too:
You can't write a script better than that, but that's just how Junior played the game.