Editing Ken Griffey Jr. (section)

==Post-playing career==
On February 17, 2011, Griffey was hired by the Mariners as a special consultant. He is involved with the Mariners at spring training and the regular season, along with visiting most of the Mariners minor-league affiliates.<ref name="sports.espn.go.com" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Spratt |first=Gerry |date=February 11, 2011 |title=Griffey returns to Mariners as special consultant |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/baseball/2011/02/15/griffey-returns-to-mariners-as-special-consultant/ |url-status=dead |access-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218040240/http://blog.seattlepi.com/baseball/2011/02/15/griffey-returns-to-mariners-as-special-consultant/ |archive-date=February 18, 2011}}</ref>

{{MLBBioRet
|Image  = Griffey-24.jpg
|Name   = Ken Griffey Jr.
|Number = 24
|Team   = Seattle Mariners
|Year   = 2016
|}}
On January 22, 2013, the Mariners announced Griffey would be the seventh person inducted into the [[Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame]]. Griffey joined [[Alvin Davis]] (1997), [[Dave Niehaus]] (2000), [[Jay Buhner]] (2004), [[Edgar Martínez]] (2007), [[Randy Johnson]] (2012) and [[Dan Wilson (catcher)|Dan Wilson]] (2012). He was formally inducted on August 10.<ref name="MarinersHOF">{{cite news |last=Johns |first=Greg |date=August 10, 2013 |title=Emotional Griffey takes his place in Mariners history |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130810&content_id=56578320&c_id=sea |access-date=August 11, 2013 |work=[[Seattle Mariners]] |publisher=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref>

A campaign had been formed to rename a section of First Avenue South, which runs adjacent to T-Mobile Park, to Ken Griffey Jr. Drive just after his announcement to retire from baseball. Later, the campaign changed direction after the death of Mariners announcer [[Dave Niehaus]] in November 2010 to Dave Niehaus Way South.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 21, 2011 |title=Honorary street for Dave Niehaus |url=http://mynorthwest.com/646/448285/Honorary-street-for-Dave-Niehaus |website=My Northwest}}</ref>

Writer [[Bill Simmons]] pointed out the prevalent belief that Griffey was the best home run hitter of the 1990s who everyone was convinced never used performance enhancing drugs. Therefore, Simmons stated Griffey was the one player who would be the most devastating to "an entire generation of American men" should he ever be linked to steroids.<ref>{{cite web |last=Simmons |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Simmons |date=April 5, 2013 |title=The Sweet Scent of Spring Mailbag |url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9137895/the-sweet-scent-spring-mailbag/ |access-date=May 17, 2013 |website=[[Grantland]]}}</ref>

On August 9, 2014, Griffey was inducted into the [[Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame]]. Griffey returned to Cincinnati for the weekend activities and choked up during his speech when he mentioned wearing the same uniform as his dad. [[Ron Oester]], [[Dave Parker]], and [[Jake Beckley]] joined Griffey in the Class of 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last=Koch |first=Bill |date=August 8, 2014 |title=Ken Griffey Jr. returns for Hall induction |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2014/08/08/cincinnati-reds-ken-griffey-jr/13811923/ |access-date=January 7, 2016 |work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=August 9, 2014 |title=Ken Griffey Jr. inducted into Reds' Hall of Fame |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/ken-griffey-jr-inducted-into-redsrsquo-hall-of-fame/ |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=[[The Seattle Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2018, ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' named Griffey as the most important athlete in Seattle sports history.<ref>{{cite web |last=Condotta |first=Bob |date=July 8, 2018 |title=Ranking the most-important athletes in Seattle sports history |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/ranking-seattle-sports-top-athletes-mariners-seahawks-huskies/ |access-date=July 23, 2021 |work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref>

On October 25, 2021, Griffey joined the Mariners ownership group, becoming the first former player to hold partnership interest in the Mariners.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perry |first=Dayn |date=October 25, 2021 |title=Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. Joins Seattle's ownership group |url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mariners-legend-ken-griffey-jr-joins-seattles-ownership-group/#:~:text=The%20Seattle%20Mariners%20on%20Monday,the%20team%20was%20not%20disclosed. |website=[[CBS Sports]]}}</ref>

===Baseball Hall of Fame election===
[[File:Ken Griffey Jr. goes with his trademark backwards cap.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Griffey during a press conference in 2016 after his election to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame]]]]
On January 6, 2016, Griffey was [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2016|elected]] to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]], receiving 99.32 percent of the vote, breaking the record previously held by [[Tom Seaver]]'s 98.84 percent in 1992.<ref name="GriffeyHOF">{{cite web |last=Bloom |first=Barry M. |date=January 6, 2016 |title=Griffey: All but 3 votes; Hall calls Piazza, too |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-elects-griffey-piazza-c161180408 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107143457/http://m.mlb.com/news/article/161180408/hall-of-fame-elects-griffey-piazza |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |access-date=January 6, 2016 |work=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref> ([[Mariano Rivera]] later became the first unanimous inductee in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schoenfield |first=David |date=January 22, 2019 |title=Rivera, Martinez, Halladay, Mussina make HOF |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25826814 |access-date=January 22, 2019 |website=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>) A flag bearing Griffey's number 24 was flown from Seattle's [[Space Needle]] following the announcement.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eaton |first=Nick |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/space-needle-flies-no-24-flag-in-honor-of-ken-griffey-jr-hoisted-by-mariners-teammate-jay-buhner/ |title=Space Needle flies No. 24 flag in honor of Ken Griffey Jr., hoisted by Mariners teammate Jay Buhner |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=January 6, 2016 |access-date=July 24, 2016}}</ref> Griffey is one of four Baseball Hall of Fame inductees who have been chosen first overall in an MLB draft. The other three are [[Chipper Jones]], who was inducted in 2018, [[Harold Baines]], who was inducted by the [[Veterans Committee]] in 2019, and [[Joe Mauer]], who was inducted in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rothenberg |first=Matt |date=2016 |title=Pick a Pair: Hall of Fame Class of 2016 makes draft history |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/griffey-piazza-highest-lowest-drafted-hall-of-famers |access-date=October 13, 2017 |work=[[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]]}}</ref>

Coinciding with his Hall of Fame election, the Mariners announced on January 8, 2016, that they would retire his jersey number 24. The retirement took effect with the start of the 2016 MLB season, with the formal ceremony taking place prior to the Mariners' August 6 game.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Johns |first=Greg |date=August 6, 2016 |title='Unbelievable ride': Seattle retires Griffey's 24 |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/mariners-retire-ken-griffey-jr-s-no-24-c194045100 |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref> The jersey retirement includes the number 24 also being taken out of circulation of all of the Mariners minor league affiliates.<ref name=":11" />

The Mariners also honored Griffey in a unique fashion in the [[2016 Major League Baseball draft|2016 MLB draft]], selecting his son [[Trey Griffey|Trey]] in the 24th round (matching his jersey number), even though Trey, at the time a [[wide receiver]] at the [[Arizona Wildcats football|University of Arizona]], had not played baseball since his preteen years.<ref>{{cite news |last=Waszak |first=Dennis Jr. |date=June 11, 2016 |title=Family Ties: Griffey Jr.'s Son Drafted by Mariners on Day 3 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/family-ties-griffey-jrs-son-drafted-mariners-day-39784809 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614083813/https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/family-ties-griffey-jrs-son-drafted-mariners-day-39784809 |archive-date=June 14, 2016}}</ref>

On July 29, 2021, Griffey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame's Board of Directors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berg |first1=Aidan |date=July 29, 2021 |title=Griffey, Biggio, Glavine elected to HOF board of directors |url=https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2021/07/29/griffey-biggio-glavine-elected-to-hof-board-of-directors/ |access-date=July 30, 2021 |website=[[NBC Sports]]}}</ref>

As of 2021, Griffey is also working as a senior adviser to MLB Commissioner [[Rob Manfred]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Janes |first=Chelsea |date=August 17, 2021 |title=Ken Griffey Jr. is still trying to make baseball cool |language=en |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/17/ken-griffey-jr-black-players/ |access-date=August 25, 2021}}</ref>