Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. kept telling stories, continued to acknowledge his appreciation to the fans and reminisced about his career, even as the scheduled game time came and went.

On this night, as the Seattle Mariners honored Griffey with induction into their Hall of Fame, no one was going to stop the greatest player to ever wear the team's uniform.

What was supposed to be a ceremony lasting about 30 minutes instead went on for nearly an hour. Griffey spoke for nearly 25 minutes in an unscripted speech and nobody seemed to mind its length.

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But his most heartfelt messages were for Niehaus' wife, Marilyn, and Buhner. Griffey said he was honored that Niehaus called home run No. 1 and homer No. 630 in his career.

He then turned to Buhner and brought both men to tears talking about their close bond developed playing in the same outfield for much of the 1990s.

"There is no other person in the world, other than my parents, that if something happened to me or my wife, that I would want to raise my kids," Griffey said, as Buhner wiped away tears with his tie.

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