Ken Griffey Jr. Negotiations Case
There were many mistakes made during the Ken Griffey Jr. negotiation. The key people involved were Ken Griffey, Jr., Pat Gillick (the Mariners’ general manager), Jim Bowden (the Reds’ general manager), and Brian Goldberg (Griffey’s agent).
First, there were many secrets kept during the entire process. Griffey, for example, never told Seattle upfront what his issues were. Seattle assumed it was money, but, in reality, Griffey wanted to be closer to his home and family. He refused to comment on the luxurious Safeco Field built in Seattle in order to avoid misleading people about his future. However, this secrecy backfired as his indifference caused major unrest in Seattle. Also, Griffey’s silence made it harder for the general managers to develop a solid strategy for the trading negotiations. Griffey’s deliberate censorship may have had an impact on his performance, which made him less desirable. Had Griffey been honest about why he wanted to leave Seattle, it may have made him look more appealing. Another mistake was when Seattle announced Griffey would be “going home” before any deal was made. This exacerbated the unrest felt by the fans. The struggle with the negotiations left many Mariners fans feeling frustrated – some had even posted hate messages on his website. When the time for trade negotiations began, there was a sever lack of communication and coordination between Griffey and Gillick that hampered the entire process. Griffey had provided Gillick with a list of his preferred teams he would consider playing for. This was a mistake – Griffey was extremely shortsighted in what he wanted. If he had kept an open mind, and provided more than a list of four potential teams, it would have left Seattle with more room to develop a solution that pleased everybody involved. However, Seattle executives privately told Gillick that