The Slide That Saved Seattle Baseball | Ken Griffey Jr. Documentary

October 8, 1995. Bottom of the 11th at the Kingdome, the Mariners one run from elimination and Seattle weeks from possibly losing its team. Edgar Martinez rips a double down the left-field line, and a 25-year-old with a backwards cap runs from first base all the way home. That slide saved baseball in Seattle. This is the story of the man who made it: Ken Griffey Jr., The Kid. The full story: born in Donora, Pennsylvania, on the exact birthday of Stan Musial; growing up in the Big Red Machine clubhouse; why he flipped his cap backwards; the No. 1 pick in 1987; a dark night in January 1988 that nearly ended everything; a double on his first big-league swing at 19; playing alongside his father and hitting back-to-back home runs together; ten straight Gold Gloves; the 1995 comeback and "The Double"; 56 homers and a unanimous MVP in 1997; the trade home to Cincinnati; the injuries; home run 500 on Father's Day; 600 with a clean name in the steroid era; the drive away from the game in 2010; and a record 99.32% Hall of Fame vote. Chapters 0:00 October 8, 1995 1:07 Donora 2:04 The Big Red Machine 3:16 Moeller 4:22 The darkest night 5:36 Nineteen 6:33 Father and son 7:40 The swing 8:32 The Kid 9:34 The Double 11:16 Fifty-six 12:19 Going home 13:06 Broken 14:13 Clean 15:06 The drive home 16:29 Cooperstown Content note: the chapter "The darkest night" (4:22) discusses a suicide attempt. If you or someone you know is struggling: in the US call or text 988; elsewhere visit findahelpline.com. Narration, script, editing and music are original. Some scenes are AI-generated illustrations and are labeled "Illustrative image (AI)" on screen; they do not depict the real people or events. Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons) • Ken Griffey Jr. at bat, Mariners at White Sox (1997) – clare_and_ben, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Edgar Martinez, Mariners (1997) – clare_and_ben, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr., Reds, swinging at Cinergy Field (c.2001) – Jon Gudorf Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Riverfront Stadium / Cinergy Field – Jon Gudorf Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. hitting at Great American Ball Park (2006) – DavidMyersPhotos, CC BY 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, Reds (2007) – SD Dirk, CC BY 2.0 • Great American Ball Park at night (2012) – redlegsfan21, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners (2009) – Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. at bat, final day of the 2009 season – kpasports, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. batting at Safeco Field (2010) – Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0 • Buhner, Wilson, Johnson, Martinez and Griffey, Safeco Field opening day (2010) – Dave Sizer, CC BY 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. at his Hall of Fame election press conference (2016), 2 photos – Arturo Pardavila III, CC BY 2.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. with sculptor Tom Tsuchiya, Cooperstown (2016) – TRSEG JR, CC BY-SA 4.0 • Ken Griffey Jr. statue, T-Mobile Park (2017) – Daniel from Glasgow, CC BY 2.0 • Ken Griffey Sr., Reds, at Dodger Stadium (1978) – Tequask, CC BY-SA 4.0 • Stan Musial (1942) – Unknown author, Public domain • Stan Musial, 1953 Bowman card – Bowman Gum, Public domain • Donora, Pennsylvania aerial (2012) – Gregsc42, CC BY-SA 3.0 • Donora street scene (mid-1970s) – Paul Gipe, CC BY-SA 4.0 • Kingdome and downtown Seattle aerial (c.1985) – Seattle Municipal Archives, CC BY 2.0 • Kingdome from Union Station (1991) – Robert Ashworth, CC BY 2.0 • Kingdome at night (c.1990) – Ron Clausen, CC BY-SA 4.0 • Inside the Kingdome, Mariners vs Royals (1996) – marbla123, CC BY 2.0 • Downtown Seattle aerial (c.1990) – Seattle Municipal Archives, CC BY 2.0 • Seattle skyline from Elliott Bay (1990s) – Ron Clausen, CC BY 4.0 • Lou Piniella (2008) – Jauerback, CC BY-SA 3.0 • Safeco Field under construction (1998) – Seattle Fleets and Facilities Department, CC BY 2.0 • Kingdome implosion (2000) – Seattle Municipal Archives, CC BY 2.0 • Safeco Field exterior (2000) – Mikano, CC BY-SA 3.0 • Safeco Field interior (2006) – Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 • National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown (2012) – Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 • Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery (2001) – Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0 • Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame induction (2019) – Y2kcrazyjoker4, CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources include SABR's Ken Griffey Jr. biography, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, ESPN, MLB.com, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, The News Tribune (Tacoma), The Spokesman-Review, The Bellingham Herald and Baseball-Reference. #KenGriffeyJr #TheKid #Mariners #TheDouble #MLB #Baseball #90sLegends #SportsDocumentary