Seattle Mariners’ DH Ken Griffey Jr. reportedly slept through a pinch hit appearance in an unspecified game last week. When questioned after the game why he did not use Junior, manager Don Wakamtsu sidestepped the question. According to two anonymous Seattle Mariners players Griffey was sleeping in his chair in front of his locker. Here are their comments:

“He was asleep in the clubhouse,” said one player. “He’d gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn’t come back. I went back in about the seventh inning — and he was in his chair, sound asleep.”

Another player tried to defend Griffey, saying the following:

“He doesn’t sleep well at night, he’s away from his family, he’s comfortable in the clubhouse,” he said. “They could have awakened him.”

This looks like the beginning of the end of a very impressive and storied career for Ken Griffey Jr. The fact that he is hitting only .208 with only 5 RBI’s on the season does not help matters. One thing you have to do even when you are struggling, is support your teammates and make yourself available to help the team in anyway possible. As a fan favorite, his signing during the off-season was more of a tribute to his previous performances as a player and his clubhouse presence, but this does not appear like it will have a happy ending in Seattle. With an offense performing at their current pace, they can ill-afford to be wasting a roster spot on a washed up veteran who is now taking naps in the clubhouse during games.

Tags: Don Wakamatsu, Ken Griffey Jr.