SEATTLE -- Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners reached agreement Wednesday on a one-year contract, perhaps the final pact of Griffey's Hall of Fame career.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But it could be similar to the one he had a year ago. Griffey received a $2 million base salary and another $3 million in incentive bonuses, half of which he reached.
Griffey, who will turn 40 years old on Nov. 21, batted .214, hit 19 home runs, drove in 57 runs and led the team with 63 walks in 117 games, an indication that even with his lowest career single-season batting average, he commanded utmost respect from opposing pitchers.
His final home run of the season, coming on the next-to-last day of the season at Safeco Field, was the 630th of his career. Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Willie Mays (660) have hit more.
Griffey recently underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur in his left knee, which limited him to 11 games in the field during his homecoming season with the Mariners.
The surgery, which he would have had even if he had decided to retire, is expected to give him more mobility.
Exactly how much playing time Griffey will get remains to be seen, but the impact he had on the players around him last season made it worthwhile to bring him back to Seattle after being away for 10 seasons with the Reds and White Sox.
He was welcomed back with open arms. Besides leading the team in walks, he was the undisputed leader in standing ovations -- inside and outside of the clubhouse.
"What he did in that clubhouse, and what he did with his presence, I think goes beyond what any of us expected," general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "Others who have been around Kenny for years knew him a lot better than I did, and I can see how important [it was to come back] and how he relished this opportunity to give back to an organization that he cut his teeth on, and give back to a community that he loves. I tip my hat to the effort he gave to us on and off the field."
Griffey helped turn around a clubhouse, which was so divided a year earlier that former GM Bill Bavasi called the team "dysfunctional," into a cohesive unit that played hard and had fun from the first day of Spring Training to the final game of the season.
"I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to have a player who enjoys playing the game as much as he does," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "He's fun. He's infectious to his teammates. He's such a breath of fresh air."
Mariners fans thoroughly enjoyed the reunion season, and let their feelings be known during the final game at Safeco Field.
They chanted "One more year!" numerous times during the season finale against the Rangers.
After the game, a red-eyed Griffey spent almost an hour with reporters, acknowledging that that day was unlike any other during his 21-year MLB career.
He went 1-for-4 in the Mariners' 4-3 victory, and along with Ichiro Suzuki, was carried off the field by teammates.
Afterwards, Griffey said, "um, yeah" when asked if he wanted to return in 2010. But he also hedged a bit, seemingly content with riding off into the sunset and becoming a full-time husband and father of three kids.
"You never know," he said then. "If this is going to be the last one, it's tough."
But that single into right field won't be his last hit, or his last game.
Among other things, Griffey has an opportunity to tie Sammy Sosa for hitting home runs in the most ballparks. Griffey is currently one behind Sosa with 44 -- and can move into a tie when the Mariners play a three-game series against the Twins on July 30-31 and Aug. 1 at Target Field, the only new ballpark in the Major Leagues next season.
Griffey also has a chance to add more pitchers to his home run victims list.
Of the 19 home runs he hit last season, 15 of them were first-time victims. Junior has hit home runs off of 407 different pitchers, second only to Sosa's 449.
He won't catch Sosa in 2010, but Griffey undoubtedly will add a few more names to his list.
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