Even though it’s been 15 years since he last appeared in a major league game, Seattle Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. continues to be at the forefront of pop culture.
According to a recent report in USA Today, Griffey had the third-highest number of PSA graded cards in 2025 among baseball players.
Jaylen Daniels (Washington Commanders), Michael Jordan (NBA) and Caitlin Clark (WNBA) had the highest number of graded cards in all of sports.
One of the best players in baseball history, Griffey spent 22 seasons in the big leagues with the Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox. He hit 630 home runs and drove in 1,836 runs in that time, posting a .284 career average.
An 13-time All-Star and a seven-time Silver Slugger, Griffey was also a 10-time Gold Glover, a three-time Home Run Derby champion and an MVP winner.
He was also one of the most popular athletes of the 1990s, appearing in moves like “Little Big League,” and on cereal boxes. He also was the cover man for several video games bearing his name and likeness. His backward hat became a staple of fashion that still resonates to this day.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016 and joins Edgar Martinez and Ichiro Suzuki as the only Mariners in Cooperstown. His No. 24 is retired by the organization.
With him, the Mariners made the playoffs in 1995, and 1997. He was traded to the Reds after the 1999 season but returned in 2009.
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Again, as noted by USA Today:
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Griffey continues to be a fixture in the Mariners organization, showing up at M’s events, and he even threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Game 5 of this season’s American League Division Series. Beyond that, he is an ambassador for for Major League Baseball. He’s also heavily involved in the ‘Swingman Classic,‘ a showcase for HBCU players at All-Star week.
He served as one of the hitting coaches for Team USA at 2023 World Baseball Classic, which saw the Americans finish second.
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