John-Ford David Griffin (born November 19, 1979) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Early life

An All-State athlete at

Sarasota High School Sarasota High School is a public high school of the Sarasota County Public Schools in Sarasota, Florida, United States, a city on the Gulf of Mexico coast south of Tampa. The school colors are black and orange and the mascot is a sailor. Histo ...

, was part of a state championship team in 1996 for the Sailors. Griffin played college

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

under head coach Mike Martin for the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Seminoles from 1999 to 2001. Griffin's career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

was .427, a Florida State record at the time.

Professional career

Griffin was drafted out of Florida State by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

with the 23rd overall pick in the 2001

First-Year Player Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. On July 5, 2002, Griffin and future Blue Jay teammates

Ted Lilly Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III (born January 4, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Mont ...

and Jason Arnold were traded to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

as part of a three-team deal also involving the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. On January 7, 2003, Griffin was traded to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor leaguer Jason Perry. Griffin posted decent numbers in his 2004 campaign with the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

, hitting .248 with 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 81

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. His 2005 season with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

was even better, as he led the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs on the way to earning both an International League All-Star selection and the Team MVP award from Syracuse. Griffin made his major league debut and collected his first major-league hit, a double, on September 6, 2005, in a game against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. On the final day of the regular season, he hit his first Major League home run against

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

pitcher

Jimmy Gobble Billy James Gobble (born July 19, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who last played in the Colorado Rockies organization. High school career Gobble attended John S. Battle High School in Bristol, Virginia and started four years on t ...

. During his major league stint in 2005, Griffin hit .308 with one home run and six RBIs. In 2006, Griffin's numbers declined due to injuries, as he hit .225 with six home runs in 60 games for Syracuse. In 2007, Griffin rebounded in Syracuse, hitting .252/.330/.488 with 26 home runs and struck out 144 times. He hit well on a September callup to Toronto and is now a career .304/.370/.696 hitter in 27 major league plate appearances. He has hit two major league home runs. In 2008, Griffin played for the Las Vegas 51s in the Dodgers farm system. He re-signed with the Dodgers in February 2009 and played briefly for the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

before he was released by the Dodgers on May 25 and signed a new minor league contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. In 2010, Griffin played for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

, but announced his retirement on June 18, 2010. In 2012, Griffin was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, John-Ford 1979 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Florida Florida State Seminoles baseball players Iowa Cubs players Las Vegas 51s players Major League Baseball outfielders New Haven Ravens players Newark Bears players Norwich Navigators players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Sarasota High School alumni Sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida Staten Island Yankees players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Syracuse Chiefs players Tampa Yankees players Toronto Blue Jays players