Ken Griffey Jr. & Cigars

To baseball fans, he’s known by the single name “Junior.” To others, it’s Ken Griffey Jr. His father, Ken Griffey, was a major league baseball player for nearly two decades. The two got the chance to play together in 1990 for the Seattle Mariners and hit back-to-back homers in a game. It was the first time that a father and son played on the same team at the same time. Junior is a hall of famer, but he never won a World Series. His dad won two with the Cincinnati Reds. Had Junior won the ultimate prize, he surely would have celebrated with his favorite cigar.

Ken Griffey Jr.’s Favorite Cigar

“I like medium-bodied cigars,” Griffey Jr. told Cigar Aficionado. While Junior didn’t name a specific favorite stogie, he is partial to the Dominican Romeo y Julieta 1875 Bully, a Robusto. This approachable smoke will burn for a few innings when you’re looking for a good cigar to smoke during a baseball game. 

More Nicknames

While Junior is the nickname that stuck, Griffey Jr. was called “The Kid” during his playing days. His first 11 seasons were with the Seattle Mariners. When he and his dad hit those homers, Junior was 20 and his dad was 40 years old. Dad played 19 years in the majors. Junior played a total of 22 and finished with 630 home runs, currently seventh on the all-time list. During the 1993 Home Run Derby at the one-year-old Camden Yards at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Junior hit a 465-foot home run that hit the warehouse beyond the right field seats and across Eutaw Street. A plaque on the spot the ball hit commemorates the event. Griffey didn’t win that derby but came out on top the following year at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium. He went on to win twice more, in 1998 and 1999.

“The Natural”

From his very first plate appearance, on April 3, 1989, it was apparent that Junior was going to be a formidable player. He hit a line-drive double off Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart at the Oakland Coliseum. A week later, in his first home at-bat in Seattle’s Kingdome, Junior hit his first home run.

Griffey’s defense was perhaps better than his offense. He won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves for his centerfield play. His catches made while climbing the outfield wall made him a legend. Junior defined elite outfield defense. Little wonder he got the extra nickname “The Natural.”