The Seattle Mariners made centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr. baseball's highest-paid player. Now they're prepared to build their team around him.
"The name of Ken Griffey Jr. has become synonymous with the Mariners," said Chuck Armstrong, president of the ball club."Ken will be the man around which this team will move forward," Mariners Chairman John Ellis said Wednesday.
The four-year, $34 million contract extension has an average annual value of $8.5 million, topping the $7.29 million annual average of the six-year deal Barry Bonds signed with San Francisco in December 1992.
Armstrong called Griffey the best player in baseball and recalled fondly the 1987 draft when he was the team's No. 1 pick
"Ken is our own player," Armstrong said. "He goes a long way to enhance the attractiveness of our franchise."
Griffey insisted salary was not the top consideration in his decision to remain with Seattle.
"I've always told the Mariners it's not a matter of the money," Griffey said in a telephone news conference from Orlando, Fla.
"I've always wanted to be on a winning team, to have something to shoot for in September and early October."
Griffey gets a signing bonus of $2.5 million. In 1997, he will be paid $7.25 million; in 1998, $7.75 million; in 1999, $8.25 million, and in 2000, $8.25 million.
He is also eligible for a number of other bonuses, including $100,000 if he were named World Series MVP.
The extension starts with the 1997 season, meaning Griffey will be under contract with the Mariners through the 2000 season.
"We've gone a long way in the last couple of years. We're going to field a good team in '96. We're going to be competitive," Griffey said.
The Mariners reached the American League Championship Series for the first time in their history last season, losing to the Cleveland Indians after beating the New York Yankees.
Faced with a player payroll of $35 million this year, the Mariners traded first baseman Tino Martinez, third baseman Mike Blowers and reliever Jeff Nelson.
"I hated to see us break up a good team and a good bunch of guys," Griffey said earlier this month. "I care a lot about who I play with. It hasn't helped to see Tino and Blow go, or Nellie.
"The guys they're bringing in may be good players, but we just don't know how it will all fit together. It's like we're starting over. The Mariners are always starting over and that gets old."
On Wednesday, he put a little different spin on it.
"You're always going to be upset when guys like those type of players leave," Griffey said. "With the players we got in return, we're going to be all right."
Griffey, 26, appeared in 72 games last season, batting .258 with 17 home runs and 42 RBIs. He missed 73 games after fracturing his left wrist May 26.
In his seven-year Major League career, Griffey has a .302 lifetime batting average with a Mariners-record 189 home runs and 585 RBIs in 917 games. He was selected to the starting lineup in each of the last six All-Star Games. Last year, he won his sixth straight Gold Glove award.
Before signing the new contract, Griffey had complained about Seattle's cold, damp winters and noted he was building a family home on a golf course near Orlando.
"I like Seattle, the fans and all. But being here (in Florida) where we can go outdoors to hang all the time, every day, is great," he said earlier this month.
With a contract through 2000, Griffey also likely will play in the new baseball stadium being designed for the Mariners and scheduled for completion in 1999.
"I'm coming back and that's the most important thing," Griffey said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Baseball's salary milestones
NEW YORK (AP) - Milestone contracts in baseball history, as obtained by The Associated Press from player and management sources:
- Nov. 19, 1979 - Nolan Ryan, Houston Astros, $1 million a year for 4 seasons
- Feb. 7, 1982 - George Foster, New York Mets, $2.04 million a year for 5 seasons
- Nov. 22, 1989 - Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins, $3 million a year for 3 seasons
- June 27, 1990 - Jose Canseco, Oakland A's, $4.7 million a year for 5 seasons
- Feb. 8, 1991 - Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox, $5,380,250 a year for 4 seasons
- March 2, 1992 - Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs, $7.1 million a year for 4 seasons.
- January 31, 1996 - Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle Mariners, $8.5 million a year for 4 seasons.