Major League Baseball could learn a lot from Ken Griffey Jr.'s XXL jock strap.
Ever since its strike in 1994, MLB has struggled to regain its status as America's favorite pastime. The league has lost a lot of fans to the NFL and NBA, but it could go a long way in winning those fans back if more of its players acted like Griffey did this past weekend.
When the Cincinnati Reds were facing the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday in Los Angeles, a Dodgers fan seated four rows behind the Reds' dugout decided he would try and give his team a little bit of an edge.
I was going to try and get in Ken Griffey Jr.'s head a little bit
said Matt Schafer, 25, on his MySpace.com page. So I started with the basics: 'you suck ... shouldn't you be on the D.L. ... too old for center ... that kind of stuff.
Most of baseball's big stars would ignore Schafer, just like they do every other fan, but Griffey poked a little fun back.
Him being a little larger than normal I just asked 'Shouldn't you be wearing a support bra?' Griffey said.
The fan kept at him, even insulting the right fielder's mom, until Griffey decided to get even in the sixth inning.
He sent someone to retrieve the biggest jockstrap he could find, write Griffey's name and number on the strap, and put it into a brown paper bag. He then threw the bag up to the fan, who was surprised to find what was in it.
He was like
'Whoa!' Griffey said. I turned around before all that stuff happened
but I could hear that section just laughing. Then I turned around and just saw him twirling it in the air like a helicopter.
I'm sure that fan and all of the fans around him went home with smiles on their faces and a great story to tell.
It is just a shame that most fans don't get to see this side of their favorite players. Big stars like Barry Bonds whine about the media and walk past little kids begging for their autographs like they were homeless people asking for some of their money.
It is players like that, who have turned so many people off from the game.
If more players like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez took 20 minutes out of their day to interact with the fans the way Griffey did, it would make the game a lot more fun for both the fans and the players. It would also go a long way in healing the wounds of the strike and steroid era.
Griffey's one good-humored act turned a jeering Dodgers fan into a lifetime Griffey fan.
When Griffey came back in
I told him I was sorry about what (I) said about his mom and that I wanted to make up
the man wrote on his MySpace.com page. He shot me a grin. When he came out in the eighth (inning)
he shot me another smile and I told him he still has the greatest swing in baseball. I hope he heard me ' I think he did. I love Griffey.
Just imagine if the rest of baseball would follow Griffey's lead.
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