Ken Griffey Jr.'s MOST INSANE catches! The Kid was one of THE BEST outfielders EVER

To celebrate Black History Month, MLB Vault will take a look back at some former MVPs.
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[@j_r_3404]

You know you're UNREAL when you're a first ballot HOF player w/ 600+ HRs, 10 gold gloves, almost 3k hits and people still refer to you as a "what if"... Simply the best I've ever seen.

[@CognizantCheddar]

For an outfielder, he had every tool at an elite level. The _complete_ package.

[@robinrahmani4705]

As popular as he is, he is still underrated, and probably because of no World Series. He was truly one of the greatest players to have ever played outfield. Not only was his defense off the charts, but so was his at bats. Many of the greatest outfielders of all time could not have made some of the catches he made if their life depended on it. Simply didn’t have the abilities that Jr. did.

[@westonweigand1228]

Amen

[@millmr20]

Yeah if his injuries hadn’t caught up with him he would’ve been in the running for Ruth’s record, but after I think his knee injury in Cincinnati he never really came all the way back. Time catches up to all of us.

[@cmqguy]

@@millmr20 not only that, but I believe he would have been the all time home run king instead of Bonds.

[@xaviermccorriston1511]

Such a great humble guy too. All around magnificent

[@cmqguy]

@@xaviermccorriston1511 yes he definitely was.

[@joewilson4561]

No body In history was better than Griff in his prime. It was an honor to watch him grow in Seattle

[@user-uv9ge6gg3f]

Absolutely! I lived there from ‘87 to ‘10 and thoroughly enjoyed not only the greatest of the Mariners but also the Seattle Super Sonics. Really good memories of attending most of those games!

[@brushyourteeth4768]

He was so smooth. I love you way he was always flipping the ball to himself after a catch

[@JonnySublime]

Sweetest swing, sweetest defense, and the definition of sacrifice.

[@johncassani6780]

Very cool to see him on the field with his dad. He really left it all out on the field.

[@banhda99]

GOAT. Grew up in Seattle watching Griffey. He was quite special, always a beautiful aura about him. He played his heart out for his fans and team first, always humbled and carried himself with such class. Stayed clean. Every single Griffey at bat was electrifying, regardless of the score.

[@gordonbezanson4710]

Just never got on the right team. The best player ive seen in my 57 years.

[@benjamindover6685]

It was pure pleasure to watch Griffey Jr. playing baseball

[@SethAustin405]

One of a kind. My favorite player of all time. Had that humble flash. Smoothest swing, power, glove. Just all around the best player to ever play the game! #24 #thekid

[@SouthsideSox007]

Man, if I could only go back in time and go to one of his games and see him play. Legend

[@kyleyates6706]

Lucky enough to see him play a lot during my childhood. He was like trout with max charisma until injuries took over

[@nickcappelletti6753]

Can’t tell you how thankful I am to have been a kid in Seattle in the 90’s. Grew up in the Kingdome with Griffey, Edgar, Randy and so many other great players . Some of my earliest baseball memories were watching Griffey play next to his dad.

[@andrewokamoto]

The timing is impeccable

[@paulvece3714]

This guy was a kamikaze pilot in the outfield. Thise were some superhuman catches, but I can't help but think what he could've done if he were able to stay health. My all time fave forever and always.

[@jbeardsley323]

It's the reason he couldn't stay healthy, unfortunately. The consequences of being the double goat. Best hitter and fielder ever.

[@hawkveinte]

800

[@geoffreyfaltot1006]

The second catch stealing the homerun was probably the best catch I've ever seen. Across the body. Up over the fence. Needed tools more than hand eye coordination. Speed and vertical. Put it all together. Literally NFL raw talent combined with baseball timing. Doesn't get much more athletic than that.

[@ethanweeter2732]

Had he taken care of his body in Cincinnati, he could have probably been the home run king.

[@BigMike_RTTV]

@@ethanweeter2732 He was aging and didn’t use steroids.

[@michaelcorbi7335]

I was at that game…..unfortunately I was 8 years old and was in the bathroom when he made the catch. My dad and younger brother saw it

[@gskessingerable]

​@@michaelcorbi7335 Sorry you missed it.

[@user-vr2dv8mn7p]

Was fortunate to see him play hundreds of games. It was the little things, his jumps on the ball and perfect routes were what made him so good. The ball was hit and he was already at full speed by the time you could look at him.

[@stellac.e2086]

KEN JR & BO JACKSON are my favorite outfielders of all time. both. if THEY could get to the ball it WOULD BE CAUGHT. both HAD great timing & climbed the wall to steal the home run!! Bo had a cannon arm also. 💪

[@stevenwalker9013]

Had 1 of the best careers ever. All the accolades while missing quite a bit due to injuries. I truly believe he would have hit 750plus HR and easily 3000 hits. Without missing the time right in his prime still, he would probably be regarded as the best player of the modern era. Him or bonds. While I still have him top 20 all time. Probably top 10, considering both sides of the ball

[@cheebawookie]

The Greatest!

[@Max-wd6og]

False

[@chiefgangmusic]

Away player getting an ovation at Fenway is a epic achievement in itself. Playing next to your dad in the show and making one of the best catches he’s ever seen is beyond epic!!!!! That’s bordering God Level 🧖🏼‍♂️🙏🏻✝️🕉️🔯🕎☪️✡️☦️☯️☮️🛐

[@Jason-ws3cd]

My guy, I'm 46 and this was the only player in my eyes, I loved Kenny's swing, and his outfield play is what inspired me to play center field. Played a long time and recently retired from travel nsa softball, where the outfield is king. I miss ya Kenny and this grown man feels like a kid again when I watch your highlights.

[@biglurp7040]

Completely agree!! Been my favorite player sense 1992

[@josecarranza7555]

To this day I still play his 1998 Nintendo 64 video game. “Call me, call me Junior!”

[@AD-mk2ut]

I’ll be ordering it again very soon lol

[@therealbs2000]

Are you trading raul ibanez

[@josecarranza7555]

@@therealbs2000 Raul Ibanez doesn’t have the power, batting, speed like he did in his prime. But he does hit some homeruns once in a while. I did a lot of trades for the Seattle team. One season I made trades to get Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, on the Mariners with Griffey.

[@therealbs2000]

@@josecarranza7555 ibanez is the most important player in the game. He helps build dynasties

[@josecarranza7555]

@@therealbs2000 Lol

[@CustomizedUsername]

Best player I’ve ever seen in person

[@jasonnokes7426]

Was a little surprised to not see his broken wrist catch in 95 on here. Especially since y'all used it as the thumbnail lol

[@jhanturandall2519]

Dave Neuhaus being our announcer only amplified jr. he made me love baseball when he was calling our games

[@charliepalmer3244]

I grew up in the greater Seattle area during his time, what a gift. He was cheered everywhere he went besides Yankee Stadium. The cheers you hear from the 2nd highlight in Detroit from '97 were very common.

[@Hughmonte]

Ken Griffey Jr will always be America's cleanest neatest most exciting beautiful player to ever hold a bat and glove in the MLB.. AWESOME WORK!

[@domxem5551]

KG was a super star. All around player. He would have been paid billions nowadays

[@johnne86sd]

I still play his first SNES game. The best!

[@user-uv9ge6gg3f]

Watched his commercial during the first World Series game yesterday 10/27/23 and reminded me of when I lived in WA and absolutely loved the Mariners. Griffey Sr & Jr, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, Buhner, The Sheriff (closer), Randy Johnson… and many more! I’m now in AZ hoping Diamondbacks kick ass!

[@Nuke1320]

He’s insane

[@michaelbronco1023]

When I was a kid, my friend's parents got us Yankees Mariners tickets at Yankee stadium. My buddies and I were Yankee fans, our buddy Jay was a Mariners fan because of Jr, we were all excited to see Jr. A week before the game, Jr broke his wrist making that great catch at the 4 minute mark in this video. Needless to say we were totally bummed. At least we got to see Randy Johnson pitch.

[@chanman4rings]

That Tiger stadium catch was amazing. He played with a smile on his face

[@Mbutler894]

Those gray sleeves jerseys are sick they should still wear those

[@BXBejita]

I love how he embarrassed the Yankees at every opportunity. Stole #300 from Barfield, he’s standing in disbelief sitting on 299 😂 and hitting 5 home runs in the 1995 ALDS

[@j_r_3404]

This video only having 72,000 views is a national tragedy.

[@ericireland4742]

Griffey best ever.. the kid is a legend… or should I say THE LEGEND

[@kincamell]

Stellar.

[@pedroguevara4256]

In my opinion the best baseball player.

[@user-zz9gb3rq2d]

Don't give a fuck if he won a world series or not, one of the best baseball players ever, period.

[@413slim]

He was what they said he was. Basically for those that don't remember or were not born during that period Griffey was a phenom. Like Tiger before Tiger or the way Lebron was viewed. He delivered. At his peak the most popular and best player in mlb.

[@gskessingerable]

Amazing baseball player.

[@mickeybugh]

How do you not put on this reel, the catch from '95 when he broke his wrist?

[@billny33]

You know, I got so confused. The catch at 3:57 where he robs Ruben Sierra looked almost identical to the broken wrist catch from 95 except that he's wearing the older Mariner uniform minus the teal. And it looked like he wasn't really hurt on that one. But I really thought that was the broken wrist catch when watching this video because they are so similar to look at. I was like no way he has 2 catches like there where he kind of plants his spikes into the wall at 3 feet high and extends across the wall with his arm to make a ridiculous grab. But he does.

[@jeffdaily9196]

Those are all opposition tv/radio announcers talking with respect and awe.

[@jeffdaily9196]

Ok, half of the announcers

[@ethanweeter2732]

They knew how good he was. You always respect the best player if he is not an asshole.

[@marcspardello1254]

One thing that is over looked is how he robs all-big time names...Juan Gone, Bell, Swade Froggs ... in other clips it's the same thing almost like he is envisioning these robberies moments before they happen

[@ambersanders7769]

Dude was an absolute beast at the plate and a magician in the outfield. Imagine if he hadnt gotten hurt as much as he did in Cincinatti. Probably would have close to if kot kore than 800 HRs and even more gold gloves. Also he had probably rhe most fluid prettiest swing in the history of baseball. Absolute stud. 💯

[@randommaskguy]

Smoothest player ever

[@DavidHernandez-ug9gb]

GOAT

[@bradcarter5403]

He didn’t invent to robbed home run, but he perfected it and made it beautiful.

[@anthonydavis7250]

Wow what an amazing player and so humble!

[@metaphoria3]

There’s a bunch more too #24

[@EddieContrario07]

Va a ser un lío igualarlo, no pasarle, igualarlo... 🙌

[@SPTO]

One of the greatest outfielders ever for sure. If he took better care of himself who knows what his numbers would've been and how much longer he would've been an elite player in the field.

[@lachlaneberle2889]

If he didn’t get injured he probably would have been all time HR leader with 3000 hits and like 15 gold gloves prolly

[@millhousemillard2140]

He "took care of himself" lol he got hurt and missed time. That's what happens in a 162 game season when you avoid PEDs dummy

[@lachlaneberle2889]

@@millhousemillard2140 exactly

[@Max-wd6og]

@@lachlaneberle2889 and if Bonds got pitched to he would have 1000, stfu with the “what ifs”

[@terryduffield5860]

That’s untrue he “didn’t take care of himself”. He beat shit out himself playing 200 miles an hour and at 36-37 his body broke down like any normal human not juiced on roids. The media and MLB fucked Griffey saying “he didn’t take care of himself” so Barry Bonds could justify gaining 25 pounds of round muscle and doubling his home runs from 37 into his 40s. Total horseshit

[@HellolBuffalol]

Just learned a few moments ago that he is a 10x gold glover. Had no idea. Great career. One of the best in the recent era of baseball.

[@JezuzIsLord]

Did you just find out about Griffey? Cus that's the only explanation... Lofton and him were the best outfielders of their era.

[@joel8692]

​@@JezuzIsLord griffey and Andrew Jones were the best CF of that era and Jones is the best defensive CF ever and arguably the best defensive player perod

[@penguinboy561]

The grounds crew must have gotten tired replacing those pads after a while when Griffey Jr was playing :-) The Mariners have had Ichiro, Johnson, and Hernandez, but there's only one Junior.

[@hq9344]

Everyone of those catches he stole HRs from were off legit power hitters back in day too… MVP and MVP candidates in fact

[@antagonisstic]

Leaves Seattle with a great head start in his career. Only to be slowed down completely.

[@louiswilliams4657]

One of the three reasons I wore 24 !

[@brohanfromrohan5771]

I see a lot of guys these days stand at the wall and jump up to make a grab. I've never seen anyone measure the ball and wall to climb up it the way Griffey did.

[@chopperdeath]

This guy was a fucking stud.

[@funoutdoortimes7498]

Always used two hands to make the catch like a pro

[@sammystate21]

Best I ever saw

[@Max-wd6og]

Then you haven’t been watching baseball for long

[@ChappyandJamesSnackReviews]

Should have shown his wrist break catch

[@steven.events]

Did he autograph any of those walls?

[@jameshudson169]

the kid was the last .400 hitter too.

[@jbeardsley323]

The goat. I feel like Cody Bellinger was on the path to Griffey type stardom and then he messed with his swing and did stupid jump arm lock shakes. I miss Griffey. We need one of those phenoms for the sport again.

[@davidw839]

It’s unfortunate that Griffey’s body gave out on him. If it hadn’t, Griffey would have been the one to break Aaron’s record and would have done so without steroids. Even with his injuries he’s still #7 all time in home runs. He would have shattered the numbers of most players ahead of him had he stayed healthy. Keep in mind that he had only been in the Majors about 10 years when he hit his 400th home run. That was about 70 ahead of Bonds pace at the time. And he didn’t retire until 12 seasons later. Best defensive center fielder I’ve ever seen. He made plays look easier than any other outfielder who played the game. This video hardly scratches the surface of his amazing catches throughout the years.

[@Zach-ls1if]

I was at the Kingdome as a 12 year old the day he robbed Juan Gonzalez of that grand slam. I think he might have robbed two homers from Gonzalez that day. And I remember Junior hit a 3 run homer too.

[@viciousdiablo4198]

Who was better in Center Andrew jones or ken Griffey jr

[@westonweigand1228]

It's not even a debate.

[@joel8692]

Jones was the best defensive player ever not only CF

[@gupr3526]

G.o.a.t

[@jamieeaton7839]

Haven't seen any one come close to the level of Griffey in his prime the best player I ever watched!

[@FactGolf]

Wait 4 Julio bruh

[@McStrokeAvision]

Bonds

[@jamieeaton7839]

@@McStrokeAvision Bonds was on steroids. I mean yeah if you don't care if the player is clean than Bond's but there's a reason he's not in the hall of fame.

[@McStrokeAvision]

@@jamieeaton7839 Bonds, idgaf about what they think I think for me. Bonds is the greatest player I’ve had the privilege to see play Griffey is second.

[@jamieeaton7839]

@@McStrokeAvision yeah who cares about the hall of fame lol Griffey Jr was in a league of his own and till about 1999 and than Bond's and Big Mac started to do the drugs if Griffey in his prime would have been using he would have hit like 80 home runs! It's cool if you like Bond's better dude but history don't lie.

[@tmillz120]

This fucking shit is crazy

[@BirdGang6]

Greatest all around player to ever play baseball

[@Max-wd6og]

🤣 It’s Barry Bonds or Willie Mays and it isn’t close.

[@BirdGang6]

@@Max-wd6og definitely not Bonds, you don’t get to be a multiple time steroid cheat and call yourself the GOAT, and Willie couldn’t lace Griffey’s cleats, nice try though clown 🤡

[@BAL_productions]

Griffey was insane! Wow I’m First!

[@GeorgeYoung-uh5by]

Was Babe Ruth or Ted Williams as good an ourielder as Jr' ? Not even close They were great hitters but no Jr. In the outfield. And Jr had over 600 homers And would have 700 if for not all those injures

[@jerrypete3799]

On Griffey's first catch, side talker says, "he turned the wrong way." What a stupid thing to say !!

[@ambersanders7769]

Not really the stupidest thing to say, he did get turned around and the fact that he was able to correct himself and still male the catch really emphasizes the greatness of the catch. Guess that's just my opinion tho.