The Seattle Mariners used one of their 2016 draft picks to select someone who doesn’t even play baseball.
In the 24th round, the team drafted Trey Griffey, a six-foot-three redshirt senior wide receiver with the University of Arizona Wildcats. Trey Griffey, son of Ken Griffey Jr., who played 11 seasons with the Mariners, does not play baseball. The younger Griffey reportedly hasn’t played baseball competitively since before he started high school. The Mariners listed him as a centre fielder, the same position as his father.
“At first, all I wanted to do was play baseball,” Trey Griffey told USA Today in 2012. “But as I got older, my dad told me, ‘You have to choose the sport you want to play.’ I said I want to play football. Once I turned 11, I was done with baseball.”
The round the Mariners picked Trey Griffey in seems to have been meant to honour his father, who wore no. 24 during his time playing in Seattle.
Ken Griffey Jr. will be in Cooperstown next month for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Mariners plan to retire his number this season.
The last day of the draft, when rounds 11-40 are conducted, is usually filled with familiar names. It’s not unusual for teams to use these late picks to select players with ceremonial connections, though generally the picks at least play baseball.
In last year’s draft, the Houston Astros took two players with Major League bloodlines. They drafted Conor Biggio, son of Astros‘ great Craig Biggio in the 34th round and Koby Clemens, son of Astros‘ former pitcher Roger Clemens, in the 35th round.
