Why is Ken Griffey Jr. at the Masters? MLB Hall of Famer loves photography
What can't Ken Griffey Jr. do?
Following a Hall of Fame MLB career where he hit 630 home runs, the former superstar nicknamed "The Kid" has been making waves in his new career this week. Griffey is a credentialed photographer at the Masters this week at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
While Griffey has been taking photos at major sporting events, including the Super Bowl and World Series in the past, this week is his first opportunity to cover the Masters.
“It’s been unbelievable and wild,” Griffey said Thursday on the Mornings @ The Masters Youtube stream about his chance to cover the Masters.
Here's what you need to know about Griffey and why he is at the Masters:
Why is MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. at the Masters?
Griffey's experience behind the camera is not the first time he's been at the Masters. In fact, he said he wanted to play at the Masters before he would attend the event. He achieved that a couple of years ago, he said.
"It's been unreal," Griffey said. "I got a chance to play it a couple of years ago."
Now, he is one of the credentialed photographers for Masters.com and has become a hit on social media for the photos he has been able to capture, despite it being his first Masters.
How did Ken Griffey Jr. get into photography?
Griffey is not the only former MLB player who has gotten into photography. He and former Mariner teammate and pitcher Randy Johnson both talked to Paste BN Sports about the post-playing career choice last year.
Griffey, who played in the big leagues from 1999 to 2010 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, began taking photos during his playing career as a way to watch his kids play sports.
“It was actually the only I way I could see my kids. I was still playing — and I understand what my dad felt like coming to watch me play — but now with social media, it was a little different everybody is like oh Ken’s here,” Griffey said.
“My daughter literally stopped dribbling a basketball and just looked at me, when she was five, and I was like ‘OK I’ve got to pay more attention to what’s going on.’ And I figured nobody’s messing with the photographer, well let me pick it up.”
Griffey added that a couple of his photographer friends sent him cameras and lenses without any advice, except for "don't put it on auto," for when he got started.
When asked what he enjoyed more, shooting photos for the Masters or hitting home runs, Griffey had a quick answer.
"Hitting a home run," Griffey said without hesitation.
The Paste BN app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.