Kyle Harrison had no idea what he was walking into.
On a recent afternoon after another standard spring training workout, the 22-year-old Giants left-hander was at the Topps spot's residence in hopes of signing his rookie card, playing with his teammates and meeting some familiar faces around him. arrived at. Cactus League. For the second year in a row, Topps will welcome a group of the game's most promising young stars to its trompe l'oeil facility in Phoenix, providing a comfortable and inviting venue for players to sign various editions of their baseball cards. provided a safe environment. This is an important but tedious task for baseball players in the early stages of their careers.
Countless rising stars have visited the house over the past week, but Harrison and several others were treated to more than just a luxurious home and good vibes.
“They pulled us aside and said, 'Let's take a picture,'” Harrison told Yahoo Sports.
“Oh, it's Ken Griffey Jr.”
Yes, the Hall of Famer who defined an entire generation of baseball fans with his unparalleled performance and personality on the field was waiting, camera in hand. The ultra-cool slugger whose likeness graces some of the most iconic baseball cards of all time will be photographing a new set of Topps cards featuring the next wave of major league stars.
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“Hey, I need this camera.”
In some ways, it's been a while since I've had a mission like this. Griffey became obsessed with photography towards the end of his playing career as another way to enjoy children's sporting events.
“I started photographing children in 2009,” he recalled to Yahoo Sports.
While his oldest son, Trey, has excelled on the playing field and his daughter, Taryn, has found success on the basketball court, Griffey's new lens allows him to “go to sporting events and be like a normal parent. I was able to watch the game.
“And it snowballed,” he explained. “My friends who work in the photography department at ESPN would say, 'Hey, we need this camera.' And it just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
Last year, legendary left-hander Randy Johnson photographed selected young players as part of Topps' annual “Bowman's Best” set. Remarkably, Big Unit is not the only Hall of Famer who played for the Mariners in the 1990s and discovered a passion for photography after his playing days. So, naturally, Griffey was the ideal candidate to be included in another special set of Topps cards scheduled to be released later this year.
“We have a great partnership with Griffey,” said the former Topps employee, who worked for 16 years and is currently senior director of talent licensing and authentication at Fanatics Collectibles (now owner of Topps). Kevin Eager said. “The stars seem to have aligned for 2024 Topps Series 1 Baseball with a dedicated set called ‘The Kid’ celebrating Griffey’s career. I informed his camp and extended the invitation, and he joined us.”
Collaborating with Griffey also felt appropriate given MLB's deep involvement in youth baseball promotion efforts and recent regular appearances at the All-Star Futures Game. “He has an eye for talent, so it felt natural to have him come and interact with the next generation of big leaguers,” Egger said.
“Maybe I can say hello.”
As the sun was setting over Scottsdale, Harrison arrived on the roof with Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawler and Rockies outfielder Jordan Beck, two of the top prospects from the National League West. They were the final subjects in a whirlpool of high-profile talent tasked with posing for photos taken by Junior. Brewers outfielder (infielder?) Sal Hroerich started the game an hour early, followed by Angels first baseman Nolan Chanuel.
Like Harrison, Chanuel didn't know what (or who) was on the table when he made it to the big leagues just a month after being selected 11th overall out of Florida Atlantic University in last year's draft. “I didn't think he'd be here,” a nearly giddy Chanuel told Yahoo Sports shortly after the photo shoot ended. “I found out maybe 25 minutes ago. Little Birdie said, 'Hey, one of the greatest hitters of all time is going to be here today.' I thought, “Maybe I should say hello and ask for a photo.”
“But he actually took a picture of me, which was great.”
Padres phenom Ethan Salas is a highly advanced 17-year-old catching prospect who reached Double-A with his pro debut in 2023. Although Salas could be forgiven for not remembering seeing Griffey in his prime — Griffey had hit 543 home runs in the major leagues before Salas was born — he clearly understood the situation. “I’ve always watched the highlights,” he said. “The sweetest swing in baseball”
Next up was Royals rookie Nick Loftin. He was especially excited about his participation given his own affinity for card collecting, a passion he shares with Kansas City teammate Bobby Witt Jr. “Bobby signed some of my rookie cards for me,” Loftin said.
As locker mates in the Royals' clubhouse last September, Witt also got Loftin interested in collecting football cards, and Patrick Mahomes' various edition cards were a natural addition to Witt's rapidly growing collection. It became. “I can’t wait to see what he has in store this year,” Loftin said.
While many card enthusiasts are looking for attention-grabbing pieces that could one day be worth big bucks, Loftin looks at his baseball card collection a little differently. “I never collect for value,” he said. “My first son was just born four weeks ago. The most important thing is to share with him this hobby and the fact that I played with these people one day so that when he gets older I want to give it to him. I think that’s the case.”
“I better step up my game.”
Guardians second baseman Andres Jimenez and D-backs catcher Gabriel Moreno, both from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, who had just completed their Gold Glove seasons, followed soon after. Next up was another powerful Venezuelan star. Jackson Cholio is the Brewers' top prospect and is expected to make his MLB debut, possibly on Opening Day, after signing an $82 million extension with Milwaukee over the winter.
Thirty-five years after his memorable MLB debut as a 19-year-old center fielder, Griffey was giving words of wisdom to another talented teenager about to make his debut, before getting a laugh, of course.
In between taking pictures of ball players, Griffey stopped to show off photos from his latest adventures. Shortly before photographing the future All-Star in Arizona, Griffey spent time in Kenya on safari, photographing spectacular landscapes and a wide variety of wildlife.
“We just came back from Africa,” he said. “I took 24,000 photos in 10 days. I shot with another photographer, and on the first day I took 600 and the other one took 2,200. “I wanted to be more up to my game. I thought, “I better step up.'' ”
“He's in charge, we just have to follow.”
It's no surprise that someone considered one of the all-time greats in this profession holds himself to extremely high standards in everything he does, and that extends to his top photo shoot. .
“I bent over and was like, 'What?'” Harrison recalled afterward, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. “Then he said, 'Not so good, I'll do another pose,' and we changed to another pose. We were dialed in.”
Chanuel added: “I saw some pictures of him. He's not a rookie. He makes the decisions. We just go with it. He's a professional.”
But while Griffey boasts more than a decade of experience in the field, frontal portraits aren't always in his photographic wheelhouse. He's much more comfortable taking action shots of people (or animals), whether it's a high school football game, a major league baseball game, or a lion on the plains of Kenya.
“I've never done it before, so don't worry about how it turns out!” he implored jokingly.
No matter what happens with the photo, it's safe to assume these players won't soon forget their unexpected photo op with The Kid. “Yeah, it’s not an everyday thing,” Loftin said with a laugh. Amidst the monotonous, wash-and-repeat days of spring training, the chance to interact with the game's legends in such an informal setting is a great opportunity for next season, when all of them hope to establish themselves as big players. , was a welcome jolt of excitement. -League mainstay.
And with his baseball legacy secured, Griffey will continue to seek new avenues to expand his rapidly evolving hobby as a shutterbug. He said he is particularly interested in photographing some of the most famous raceways on the planet. Griffey, who has already raced at Daytona and recently raced at the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, is scheduled to race at Talladega later this year.
But was his ultimate dream to shoot? “It will probably be a night race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
