Baseball Guru
02-28-2002, 07:30 PM
By Associated Press
February 28, 2002, 2:57 PM EST
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Ken Griffey Jr. is stung by criticism from former Cincinnati Reds teammates and a coach that the team was hurt and divided by his arrival in 2000.
"All I ever wanted to do was fit in," he said Thursday.
Griffey hopes to be back on the field Friday after being sidelined by a stomach virus. He spent five hours in a hospital Wednesday undergoing tests.
"I had symptoms of appendicitis but they ruled that out. I had an MRI, X-ray, CAT scan and blood test," he said.
Griffey is sensitive about the criticism suggesting that his star status has earned him special treatment. He came to the Reds in a February 2000 trade with Seattle after having been a perennial All-Star in the American League.
Former Reds coach Ron Oester, now a minor league coach with the Philadelphia Phillies, said this week that Griffey's habit of arriving late and skipping pregame practice irked other players and disrupted the team.
Oester joined Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young, former Reds now with other teams, in citing Griffey's special treatment as a factor in the Reds' decline the last two years.
"The only conversation I had with Ron Oester last year was when he asked me why I was so different," Griffey said. "I told him that toward the end of 2000, there was a lot of negative stuff.They went from being not very good to good, and then I came and everybody expected us to go the World Series."
"Junior's going to be Junior," Reese said last week. "He's going to do his thing and they are not going to say anything. But it's 25 of us, not one ... I know he's Ken Griffey Jr., but someone should have said, 'We're all in this together.'"
The Reds finished 96-67 in 1999 and 85-77 in 2000 under former manager Jack McKeon, then went 66-96 last season under manager Bob Boone.
Griffey said he doesn't know what caused his stomach virus. He said he ate a turkey sandwich on Tuesday night, then felt stomach pain on Wednesday.
"I came in, worked out and I thought I was a little sore from the first day of workouts," he said.
February 28, 2002, 2:57 PM EST
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Ken Griffey Jr. is stung by criticism from former Cincinnati Reds teammates and a coach that the team was hurt and divided by his arrival in 2000.
"All I ever wanted to do was fit in," he said Thursday.
Griffey hopes to be back on the field Friday after being sidelined by a stomach virus. He spent five hours in a hospital Wednesday undergoing tests.
"I had symptoms of appendicitis but they ruled that out. I had an MRI, X-ray, CAT scan and blood test," he said.
Griffey is sensitive about the criticism suggesting that his star status has earned him special treatment. He came to the Reds in a February 2000 trade with Seattle after having been a perennial All-Star in the American League.
Former Reds coach Ron Oester, now a minor league coach with the Philadelphia Phillies, said this week that Griffey's habit of arriving late and skipping pregame practice irked other players and disrupted the team.
Oester joined Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young, former Reds now with other teams, in citing Griffey's special treatment as a factor in the Reds' decline the last two years.
"The only conversation I had with Ron Oester last year was when he asked me why I was so different," Griffey said. "I told him that toward the end of 2000, there was a lot of negative stuff.They went from being not very good to good, and then I came and everybody expected us to go the World Series."
"Junior's going to be Junior," Reese said last week. "He's going to do his thing and they are not going to say anything. But it's 25 of us, not one ... I know he's Ken Griffey Jr., but someone should have said, 'We're all in this together.'"
The Reds finished 96-67 in 1999 and 85-77 in 2000 under former manager Jack McKeon, then went 66-96 last season under manager Bob Boone.
Griffey said he doesn't know what caused his stomach virus. He said he ate a turkey sandwich on Tuesday night, then felt stomach pain on Wednesday.
"I came in, worked out and I thought I was a little sore from the first day of workouts," he said.