In 1996, only rain could stop Griffey
A rain delay can be a ballplayer’s best friend. It can bail out a pitcher, securing a victory with trouble on the bases and a blown save looming. It can cancel an early blowout, offering a team the chance to start fresh the next day.
Or, as Ken Griffey Jr. learned in 1996, it can nullify statistical achievements and rob a player of a historic milestone.
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On Sept. 6 of that year, Griffey hit his 44th home run of the season – a first-inning solo shot off Cleveland’s Jack McDowell at Jacobs Field. Three games back of the Wild Card spot and six behind Texas in the division, the 72-67 Mariners were hovering around contention. Griffey, meanwhile, had remained a dominant force at the plate, hitting .300 with five home runs, 12 walks and 17 RBI in his previous 14 games.
The home run put Griffey one shy of his career high – set in 1993 – and jumpstarted Seattle’s offense versus the American League-leading, 83-58 Cleveland club.
In the top of the fourth, however, heavy rain forced a delay. And after two hours and 11 minutes, the game was declared unofficial and rescheduled for a doubleheader two days later.
“Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 44th home run straight into a stiff wind caused by what was left of Hurricane Fran,” wrote the Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune. “But the storm also brought drenching rain to Jacobs Field that canceled the game and took Griffey’s homer back.”
“Sloppy weather washed away the Mariners-Indians game Friday, and a whole lot more,” echoed the Associated Press.
Seattle split the Sunday doubleheader to make up the game and, even with a 10-game winning streak in mid-September, finished three wins shy of Baltimore for the wild card spot.
For one, the cancellation deprived Mariners slugger and future Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez of a much-needed hit. The 33-year-old had doubled to snap out of an 0-for-17 slump, but like Griffey’s home run, it didn’t count. Martinez would single in Sunday’s makeup contest, though, and he posted a .474 on-base percentage through the end of the regular season.
With 23 games remaining, the loss of one home run appeared negligible to the powerful Griffey, but after three homerless games to conclude the schedule, The Kid finished with 49 round-trippers. If not for the Sept. 6 storm, Griffey would have owned the first 50-home run season in Mariners history.
Forty-nine home runs, combined with a .303 average, 16 stolen bases and 140 RBI, made for a terrific campaign nonetheless. Griffey finished fourth in American League MVP voting while winning his fourth Silver Slugger Award and seventh consecutive Gold Glove Award. And 50 home runs wouldn’t elude the young phenom for long, as he smashed 56 in each of the next two seasons.
Griffey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
Justin Alpert was the 2023 social media intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
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