Mel M. noticed that I had yet to feature Ken Griffey Jr. in a Monster Card Monday column. With his help, I am about to rectify that. Here is Junior’s 1997 APBA card.
The Donora, PA native had one of his best seasons in 1997 helping the Mariners to a first place finish in the AL West. Griffey hit 56 homers with 147 rbis, 125 runs and a .646 slugging percentage, all league best.
Griffey also hit .304 with 34 doubles and stole 15 bases. He was a unanimous MVP choice receiving all 28 first place votes. In addition, he was an All-Star and a Gold Glove award recipient.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Totals | 157 | 704 | 608 | 125 | 185 | 34 | 3 | 56 | 147 | 15 | 76 | 121 | .304 | .382 | .646 |
Start with the basics… 1997 Ken Griffey Jr. is a Fast OF-3. Right there, you know he has value.
But look at his power numbers! His five extra base numbers of 1-1-5-5-6 are pretty nice (especially with runners on base!).
To reflect his 15 steals, APBA gave Griffey a 15-10 plus a 45-14*. I’ve always been vague on the steal value of the asterisk but to me, this seems accurate.
Helpful hint: To those who use this Griffey card, ‘ware the 53-16 with a runner on second. That runner will be out at home unless you coach him (don’t blame Griffey!). Too many times, I’ve been burned by the 53-16 result.
Thanks Mel! Great choice!
Hi Tom,
This was a great card to see. I was not playing at that time and would have loved to play that season seeing this. Regarding the value of an asterisk? That seems to be a bit of a variable for who is around the hitter in the lineup and luck of the draw with pitching as I had 2-3 wiped out by ZZ pitchers in my personal replays.
If you want to use a more recent result was with my Dragon team last year. Francisco Lindor, just like Griffey had a 10 and a 45*. I would say it got him about 5 steals last year by itself.
I’m about 15 games into a 1997 Baltimore Orioles re-play. Looking forward to the match up with the M’s!