Ken Griffey, Jr.---1990
Life on the road as a baseball scout
means countless hours away from
family and friends. Passing the time
at ballparks and in hotel lobbies,
scouts share stories like fisherman
telling about the one that got away.
Some of them exaggerated, but many
of them are true gems of our National
Pastime.
One of my favorite stories comes
from long-time scout Carl
Lowenstein, who worked the Midwest
territory for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lowenstein would tell the story of
watching future Hall of Famer Ken
Griffey, Jr. as a summer league
player prior to “The Kid” being
selected by the Mariners first overall
in the 1987 Amateur Draft.
It was a summer afternoon in
Cincinnati and the Dodger scout was
watching the prestigious Midland
Redskins team that featured Griffey,
Jr. in Connie Mack game.
Griffey had one memorable at-bat
that Lowenstein would never forget.
The young Griffey took the first pitch
for a strike. Griffey then called time
and walked down the line to Redskins
first base coach Ralph Smith to utter
a few words. Lowenstein was the lone
scout at the game, situated down the
third base line to get a good look at
the sweet left-handed swing of
Griffey. As Griffey headed back to
the batters box, Smith gave Carl a
hand signal to get his stopwatch
ready.
Sure enough, Griffey laid down a
perfect drag bunt and literally flew
down the line… safe by mile.
Once the inning ended, Smith came
back to the dugout, but visited with
Lowenstein first. The inquisitive scout
asked Smith what Griffey said to him
during his timeout. Smith related that
Griffey told him that he would see him
in three and a half seconds.
To their amazement, Lowenstein
showed Smith his stopwatch with a
time of 3.51 seconds.
Phenomenal players can do special
things on the diamond… and that's
how good Ken Griffey, Jr. was in high
school.
(6/6/08)
means countless hours away from
family and friends. Passing the time
at ballparks and in hotel lobbies,
scouts share stories like fisherman
telling about the one that got away.
Some of them exaggerated, but many
of them are true gems of our National
Pastime.
One of my favorite stories comes
from long-time scout Carl
Lowenstein, who worked the Midwest
territory for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lowenstein would tell the story of
watching future Hall of Famer Ken
Griffey, Jr. as a summer league
player prior to “The Kid” being
selected by the Mariners first overall
in the 1987 Amateur Draft.
It was a summer afternoon in
Cincinnati and the Dodger scout was
watching the prestigious Midland
Redskins team that featured Griffey,
Jr. in Connie Mack game.
Griffey had one memorable at-bat
that Lowenstein would never forget.
The young Griffey took the first pitch
for a strike. Griffey then called time
and walked down the line to Redskins
first base coach Ralph Smith to utter
a few words. Lowenstein was the lone
scout at the game, situated down the
third base line to get a good look at
the sweet left-handed swing of
Griffey. As Griffey headed back to
the batters box, Smith gave Carl a
hand signal to get his stopwatch
ready.
Sure enough, Griffey laid down a
perfect drag bunt and literally flew
down the line… safe by mile.
Once the inning ended, Smith came
back to the dugout, but visited with
Lowenstein first. The inquisitive scout
asked Smith what Griffey said to him
during his timeout. Smith related that
Griffey told him that he would see him
in three and a half seconds.
To their amazement, Lowenstein
showed Smith his stopwatch with a
time of 3.51 seconds.
Phenomenal players can do special
things on the diamond… and that's
how good Ken Griffey, Jr. was in high
school.
(6/6/08)
