Seattle star Ken Griffey Jr. said he would apologize to Detroit manager Sparky Anderson for making obscene gestures and shouting an obscene phrase at the Tigers dugout after a home run Sunday night.
"I can't fly to Detroit, so I'll have to do it by phone," Griffey told the Detroit News on Monday night. "I said it, and the Tigers got all over me for it, but they'll have to respect that I'm going to be a man and say I did something I shouldn't have done."Griffey's three-run homer capped a five-run eighth inning Sunday night as the Mariners rallied to beat the visiting Tigers 9-5. It was his only hit in the three-game series in which the Tigers walked him six times.
"It was the most classless thing I've seen on a field," Detroit catcher Chad Kreuter said.
Anderson spoke with Seattle manager Lou Piniella after the game and was unable to reach Mariners coach Ken Griffey Sr., who played for Anderson in Cincinnati. Anderson told the Detroit Free Press that he talked with Ken Griffey Sr.'s wife, Alberta.
"She said, `You don't let Kenny hit,' " Anderson said. "I told her it was a sign of respect. I told his daddy when I got there the first day - he even asked about it, and I told him - `You can take Junior's bat and stick it away.' He said, `I know.' "