M's Want MLB To Act On Threat

The Seattle Mariners have asked major league baseball to investigate reports of threats made against Ken Griffey Jr. and his family.

"Once we learned from Ken that he had received threats, we contacted major league baseball's security office," team president and chief operating officer Charles Armstrong said Saturday in a news release.

"We are confident that major league baseball, working with appropriate local and national law enforcement agencies, will quickly get to the bottom of these threats," he said.

The All-Star center fielder told The Seattle Times on Thursday that he had received a death threat at his home in Florida in a letter mailed from Seattle.

Griffey called the threat "the last straw" in his determination to leave Seattle. He said the letter came sometime after Nov. 2, the day the Mariners called a news conference and announced that he had requested a trade.

With one year left on his contract, Griffey is committed to play for the Mariners for the 2000 season. He has narrowed the number of teams he would join to one: Cincinnati.

He can become a free agent after next season. He has said he won't sign a contract extension with the Mariners.

Mariners pitchers and catchers are to report for spring training Feb. 17 in Peoria, Ariz. The Mariners begin playing spring training games March 2.

The Reds' spring training is in Florida. Griffey has said he wants to be traded so he can be closer to his family.

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