| Mike Griffin | |
|---|---|
 Griffin in 1898 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born:(1865-03-20)March 20, 1865 Utica, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: April 10, 1908(1908-04-10) (aged 43) Utica, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 16, 1887, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 15, 1898, for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .296 |
| Home runs | 42 |
| Runs batted in | 720 |
| Stolen bases | 473 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
Michael Joseph Griffin (March 20, 1865 – April 10, 1908) was an AmericanMajor League Baseballcenter fielder who was born inUtica, New York. He played in 1,511games over 12 seasons for teams in theAmerican Association,Players' League, andNational League. He had 1,755hits, resulting in a .296batting average, and was a prolificbase stealer who swiped 473 bases during his career. In his last year in the majors, he was also aplayer-manager for theBrooklyn Bridegrooms.[1]
While playing for the local Utica professional team, Griffin wasscouted and signed byBilly Barnie of theBaltimore Orioles. On April 16, 1887, he became the first major league player to hit ahome run in his firstplate appearance, an honor he shares withGeorge Tebeau, who homered on the exact same day in his first plate appearance (it is unclear which player hit his home run first, chronologically, so both are considered "the first"). Griffin went on to become one of the premiere ballplayers of the time, leading his league inruns scored in 1889 anddoubles in 1891.
Griffin was team captain of Bridegrooms in 1897 and 1898 and served as interimmanager for a part of 1898, a total of four games, winning one. After the 1898 season, Brooklyn signed him to a $3,500 contract to manage the following season. But before the season started, Brooklyn and Baltimore merged, and Baltimore managerNed Hanlon was named Brooklyn's manager instead. Griffin was offered a $2,800 contract to play by Brooklyn, but he refused to sign. Brooklyn released him to theCleveland Spiders, who then released him to theSt. Louis Perfectos. After failing to receive a contract he felt he was worth from any team, he sued Brooklyn for the salary he believed they owed him from the contract he had signed and won a judgment of $2,300 from the club. He then unofficially retired from major league baseball.[2]
Griffin returned to Utica where he became involved in the management of local breweries. It was there that he died frompneumonia, at age 43, and was buried at St. Agnes Cemetery.[3]
· Baseball Almanac