SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre came to the plate last Tuesday against the Angels for the first time since sitting out three weeks because of a severely bruised right testicle, the result of a bad-hop grounder.
His walk-up music on the Safeco Field sound system?
An excerpt from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite."
It took one guess to figure out the culprit behind the gesture.
"Would I do something like that?" Ken Griffey Jr. said, feigning mock indignation before breaking into a wide, toothy grin. "I would never do anything like that."
Before sitting for an interview, Griffey, the 39-year-old designated hitter whose 625 home runs rank fifth on baseball's all-time list, issues neckties to all his teammates to wear on the team plane.
They are bright white, with stencil-like drawings of either Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki's face or Suzuki's dog, a Shiba Inu. Suzuki promptly ties one into a Windsor knot to wear over his batting-practice jersey.
As Griffey speaks about his distinguished 21-year career, the injuries that robbed him of a chance to challenge the home run record and his decision to return to Seattle after nine years away, teammates are playing with a remote-control dune buggy in the clubhouse. They set up a little plywood ramp and crack up when the car jumps through the air and nearly crashes into Griffey's feet.
Griffey revels in the frivolity.
A game against the Angels will begin in about an hour.
"You know, his nickname is 'The Kid,' and he has fun," teammate Mike Sweeney said of Griffey. "Whether he had a two-homer game or went 0 for 4, he's the same guy. He just has fun every day.
"I've been around guys like that, but never one with 600-plus home runs. Usually, guys who have that much fun and take things so lightly don't last. But he's so talented, that easygoing mind-set helps him be one of the best to play the game."
It has also helped transform a dysfunctional team that lost 101 games amid clubhouse dissension in 2008 into a unified group that has returned to respectability in 2009, with a 72-66 record entering tonight's game in Angel Stadium.
Much of the discontent centered on a disenchantment with the team's star, Suzuki. Griffey has worked hard to break down the walls that isolated Suzuki from the rest of the team by often including the outfielder in clubhouse banter.
