Looking Back on the Ken Griffey Jr. Cameo in Macklemore’s Music Video
Ken Griffey Jr. was a hero to so many kids in the 90s. He was cool, something baseball has always struggled with a little bit. The backward hat, the swagger after hitting a home run, the stance, all of it — and the steroid bug never flew into his orbit.
He hasn’t played in a decade, retiring in the middle of the 2010 season, yet he’s back in the limelight because he has a new documentary coming out on June 21st (Father’s Day) on MLB Network. Today is also the day he made his pro baseball debut back in 1987.
That’s not to say he’s been hiding out for a decade, however. Kid Griffey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016 (first ballot) and a year prior, he dipped his toe into the hip-hop world, appearing in a Macklemore’s video for “Downtown,” the lead single off Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ sophomore album This Unruly Mess I’ve Made.
The video, which won Best Music Video at the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards, was an ode to Seattle, Macklemore’s hometown. In it, Griffey brings back to life his infamous 1989 Upper Deck rookie card, afro, retro gear and everything.
The video also features 80s hip-hop heavyweights Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz.
Griffey pops up around the 1:40 mark in the video; it’s quick but awesome.
Griffey’s MLB Network documentary, titled Junior, airs at 8 p.m. ET on June 21st as part of their MLB Network Presents series. It’s the first new doc in the series since January of 2020 and the 41st in the series. A complete list of the docs can be found here.