Ken Griffey Jr. Explains Why He Started Wearing His Hats Backwards

Will his Hall of Fame plaque feature his backwards hat?

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Complex Original

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Now that Ken Griffey Jr.has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, many players and fans are calling for his HOF plaque to feature him wearing his hat backwards like he did throughout his career:

ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning show even put together this mock-up of what his potential plaque might look like:

And during an interview on Mike & Mike this morning, Griffey Jr. was asked whether or not he would be in favor of having his plaque feature his backwards hat. He said that he’s not quite sure yet.

“I don’t know if I want to do that,” he said, “just because of the tradition of baseball.”

But after saying that, he also explained why he started wearing his hat backwards in the first place. As it turns out, he didn’t do it because it looked cool. Rather, he did it because he used to wear his father’s hats, and they never fit him right.

“My dad had a ‘fro, and I didn’t,” he said. “So I wore his hat and it always hit me in the face, so I just turned it around and it just stuck. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a tough guy or change the way that baseball is played. It was just that my dad wore a size 7 1/2, and I had a 6 1/4. It was just too big.”

Makes sense. But for the record, we’re still Team Backwards Hat for The Kid’s HOF plaque. All day.

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