If you’re feeling down and in need of a bit of pick-me-up, then this list of the best Ken Griffey Jr. quotes is for you!
With a career spanning more than two decades, Ken Griffey Jr. is undoubtedly one of the most well-known players out there. Coupled with his numerous awards and recognitions, including the Baseball Hall of Fame, he’s certainly become equated to the word, “baseball” itself.
He is most notorious for being one of the best home run hitters who ever played on the field. But, aside from his contributions to the sport, Ken Griffey Jr. also has a lot of life lessons he wants to share with the world.
So, if you need a little push, be sure you read through our whole collection below.
Let’s get started.
And don’t forget to check out these baseball quotes and Satchel Paige quotes.
Best Ken Griffey Jr. Quotes
1. “It’s a game, and that’s how I am going to treat it.”
2. “Why should I stretch? Does a cheetah stretch before it chases its prey?”
3. “When you have fun, it changes all the pressure into pleasure.”
4. “My name is not ‘The Best Player in Baseball.’ My name is George Kenneth Griffey Jr.”
5. “To succeed in baseball, as in life, you must make adjustments.”
6. “Hard work doesn’t start during the game. Hard work starts the night before.”
7. “It doesn’t matter how much money you make; it’s where you feel happy.”
8. “The two misconceptions of me are I didn’t work hard, and that everything I made it look easy.”
Famous Ken Griffey Jr. Quotes on Baseball
9. “If I’m compared to Babe Ruth or Willie Mays, that’s great. But I’m just going to go out there and be myself.”
10. “Out of my 22 years, I’ve learned that only one team will treat you the best, and that’s your first team.”
11. “As long as I have fun playing, the stats will take care of themselves.”
12. “Well, my dad taught me that there’s three parts. There’s hitting, there’s defense, and there’s baserunning. And as long as you keep those three separated, you’re going to be a good player. I mean, you can’t take your defense on the bases, you can’t take your hitting to the field, and you can’t take your baserunning at the plate. But defense is number one.”
13. “I’ve been swinging the same way since I was born. It’s always worked.”
14. “It’s not what one person does. One person is going to get to be the star of the game. But it might have been the guy who got the guy over that’s the real star of the game.”
15. “The other guys, all they have to do is use their big butts and big python arms to hit homers. Me, I’m the little guy in the group. People always root for the little guy.”
Ken Griffey Jr. Quotes That Will Motivate You
16. “Talent may get you on the field, but it’s effort and attitude that will keep you there.”
17. “Just because I made it look easy doesn’t mean that it was and you don’t work hard and become a Hall of Famer without working day in and day out.”
18. “Talk to people. Go another way. Don’t kill yourself. It ain’t worth it and I’m a great example. No matter how bad it seems at the time, work your way through it. Who knows how your life is going to turn out?”
19. “I learned at an early age, just be yourself.”
20. “You lose, you smile, and you come back the next day. You win, you smile, you come back the next day.”
21. “Everybody is putting emphasis on the negative, and I try to focus on the positive.”
Interesting Ken Griffey Jr. Quotes to Get You Thinking
22. “I was able to live out my dream of playing baseball, and I’ve got to do the same for my kids and let them live out their dreams of whatever they want to do in life.”
23. “My mom told me to hang around with the right people. That’s what I’ve been doing. Just taking it easy and having fun.”
24. “I think social media has allowed the players to be able to say things that maybe didn’t come out right the first time and say what they really meant. I think that it keeps people fair and honest.”
25. “I mean, you’re just not going to like somebody and he’s not going to like you. But you’re going to go out there and play. And you’re going to give the other seven or eight guys on that field a chance to win. And that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
26. “I explained to my kids at an early age: I’m a normal dad with a normal job.”
27. “I knew unless I got stopped I was going to go all the way. I don’t know if I can run any faster. I just ran as fast as I could.”
Ken Griffey Jr. Quotes Packed With Insights
28. “That’s the attitude everyone should take. No matter what life throws at you, don’t ever give up chasing your dreams.”
29. “I don’t think it’s the intent of baseball not to have black ballplayers, but we have to find a way to get these kids back. We lost them to football. We lost them to basketball. We lost them to golf. People don’t see how cool and exciting this game is.”
30. “In baseball, there are certain things you can call someone: a fossil, graybeard, grandpa, dad, pops. But I got a chance to say it and mean it.”
31. “You can’t sensationalize a story that is a heartfelt story.”
32. “There are more second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and so on in the big leagues than first-round picks.”
33. “I think that it takes one person in the household to be a baseball fan for people to love baseball. And if you don’t love baseball as a parent, your kids are not going to love it because you’re not watching it.”
More Ken Griffey Jr. Quotes You’ll Love
34. “I won’t be upset if I don’t win a ring, because I gave it my all.”
35. “I don’t like to be talked about, especially by somebody that doesn’t know me.”
36. “The NFL and NBA have done a better job than we have in showing the fun side of the sport, having people talk about it whether it’s on social media, commercials, or the news.”
37. “A couple things I’m gonna be remembered for: the hat backward and the swing. And the smile.”
38. “My dad would have bopped me on the head when I was a kid if I came home bragging about what I did on the field. He only wanted to know what the team did.”
39. “Baseball and golf have a lot of things in common, including the fact that players in both games love hitting for power. However, in both sports, trying to do so strictly with muscle strength doesn’t work very well. In fact, I see a lot of guys in both baseball and golf struggle when they try to swing with tight arms.”
40. “I was just putting way too much pressure on myself. I was just trying to get that validation from my dad. It got so bad I remember my high school coach telling him not to show up to games.”
When Does Pressure Reach the Point Where It’s Destructive?
Like any other player in any sport, Ken Griffey Jr. had a lot of pressure put on him. And like we all know, too much pressure can lead to one’s downfall.
However, the good thing is, Ken Griffey Jr. soon learned how to cope and deal with it. He focused his efforts on enjoying the game and the sport. And as he said, “When you have fun, it changes all the pressure into pleasure.”
This undoubtedly changed the course of his playing career. He’s a 13-time All-Star, and by the end of his career, he garnered a total of 630 home runs. That’s not something someone who doesn’t love the game can achieve.
So, like Ken Griffey Jr., always remember to love what you do because that’s the only way to succeed and be happy in life. We hope the quotes listed above were able to serve as your stepping stones toward reaching your goals.
Are you a fan of Ken Griffey Jr.? Are there any other quotes you’d like us to add? List them down below!
