Ken Griffey, Jr.

Woody Woodward sent him a player's contract dated 2012. Note: Noctilux is a f/1 or f/1.2 lens, Summilux is a f/1.4 lens, Summicron is a f/2 lens, and Elmarit is a f/2.8 lens in Leica lingo. When Trey was born, then-Mariners' G.M. These include the Panasonic DMC-FZ10, Panasonic DMC-FZ20, Panasonic DMC-FZ30 models. Griffey and his wife Melissa have 3 children: George Kenneth III ("Trey"), daughter Taryn Kennedy, and adopted son Tevin Kendall. Leica lenses are used on many Panasonic digital cameras and video recorders. Had the chronic injuries of 2001-2004 not limited his astronomical progress, the discussion could currently be when, not if, Griffey would surpass Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs. Leica M series with interchangeable lens bayonet style Leica bodies:.

If his health remains intact, Junior could reach 600 home runs sometime in the 2007 season, at age 37. Leica 35 mm series with interchangeable lens screw mount style Leica bodies:. Griffey's resurgence was recognized when he was named National League Comeback Player of the Year. Below is a list of cameras and lenses produced under the Leica name. Still, his 128 games in 2005 were the most he has played since 2000. The Leica company still produces a range of expensive, very high quality optical products, including compact cameras, M-System rangefinder cameras (direct descendants of the first Leica), R-system single-lens reflex cameras, digital cameras (in association with Panasonic) such as the Leica Digilux 2 / Panasonic DMC-LC1, binoculars, and spotting scopes. On September 22, with the Reds out of playoff contention, the team decided to bench him for the rest of the season so he could immediately have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and a separate operation to repair scars from his 2004 hamstring operation. In 1998 the Leica group split into 2 independent units: Leica Microsystems [1] and Leica Geosystems.

Early in September, he strained a tendon in his left foot (an injury unrelated to his past hamstring and calf problems), and was listed as day-to-day for several weeks. In 1996 Leica Camera separated from the Leica Group and became a publicly held company. He ended the season tied with Mickey Mantle, after having passed Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, and Mel Ott in 2005. At this time, Leica moved its factory from Wetzlar to the nearby town of Solms. Junior's 35 home runs were his highest since his first year with the Reds as Griffey slowly moved up the career home run list. In 1986, the Leitz company changed its name to Leica (LEItz CAmera), due to the strength of the Leica brand. The fluid swing, which depends heavily on excellent lower body strength, returned to its original form, now that Griffey's hamstring and calf problems appear behind him. The Leica Historical Society of America is the largest Leica collector and user group, boasting 2,000 members.

Starting May 1, the 2005 season saw the resurgence of a healthy Griffey. Lager, a former Leica employee. [2]. There are dozens of Leica books and collector's guides, perhaps the best known is the massive 3-volume Leica an Illustrated History by James L. In April, he hit only .244 with only one homer (on April 30) and nine RBI. Leica cameras, lenses, accessories even sales literature are almost fanatically collected by enthusiasts. After an intense rehabilitation period, he returned for the 2005 season. There exist many fake Leica cameras, usually based on Soviet cameras, with the Leica name engraved on the top-plate.

For several weeks, Griffey's right leg was in a sling that kept the leg at a 90-degree angle, and he was not able to move the leg until late October. Cameras carrying markings that show they were issued to the German army or airforce carry very high premiums. Shortly after this injury, the Reds' team physician, Timothy Kremchek, devised an experimental surgery dubbed "The Junior Operation" that would use three titanium screws to reattach Griffey's hamstring. Very early examples of Leica cameras and rare accessories are highly sought after by camera collectors and can fetch extremely high prices. But there was far more to it than anyone realized at the time. Leica also carried in their catalogues focusing systems such as the Focorapid and Televit which could replace certain lenses' helicoid mounts for sports and natural-life telephotography. He later came out of the game, complaining of "tightness" in the hamstring exacerbated by chilly conditions in San Francisco. Furthermore, certain LTM and M rangefinder lenses featured removable optical groups which could be mounted via adapters on the Visoflex system, thus making them usable as rangefinder or SLR lenses for Visoflex-equipped Screwmount and M rangefinder cameras, as well as being usable on Leicaflex and R cameras.

He slid as he got to the ball, but in the process hyperextended his right leg. Similarly Visoflex lenses could be used on the Leicaflex and R cameras with an adapter. Griffey was starting in right field for the first time in his 16-year Major League career when he raced toward the gap to try to cut off a ball before it got to the wall. As an example, LTM (screwmount) lenses were easily usable on M cameras via an adapter. The play in question occurred at SBC Park in a game against the San Francisco Giants. Leica's sometimes arcane catalogue of accessories belies a comprehensive if sometimes haphazard systems approach to photography. Griffey finished the 2004 season on the disabled list after suffering a complete rupture of his right hamstring in San Francisco on August 11. The Visoflex system was discontinued in 1984.

The fan received many awards from Griffey Jr. In addition, the optical groups of many rangefinder lenses could be removed, and attached to the Visoflex via a system of adapters. He did get his 500th home run ball from a fan who was also there for Father's Day with his dad. Leica lenses for the Visoflex system included focal lengths of 65, 180 (rare), 200, 280, 400, 560, and 800 mm. However, the injury bug struck again just before the All-Star break; he suffered a partial hamstring tear, knocking him out of the All-Star Game and putting him on the disabled list. This was followed by a much more compact Visoflex II in 1960 (which was the only Visoflex version available in both LTM (screwmount) and M-bayonet) and the Visoflex III with instant-return mirror in 1964. in the stands, a hit that also tied him with his father for career hits with 2,143. A redesigned PLOOT was introduced by Leica in 1951 as the Visoflex I.

Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, with his father Ken Sr. Moreover, until the 1964 introduction of the Leicaflex, the PLOOT and Visoflex were Leica's only SLR offerings. The 500th home run came on Father's Day in a game against the St. This date is significant because that it places Leica among the 35 mm SLR pioneers. In 2004, Griffey avoided major injury during the first half of the season and on June 20 became the 20th player to reach 500 career home runs. The earliest Leica reflex housing was the PLOOT, announced in 1935, along with the 200 mm f/4.5 Telyt Lens. Consequently, he is not nearly the ubiquitous presence he once was on cereal boxes, television commercials, and the All-Star Game. Camera rangefinders are inherently limited in their ability to accurately focus long focal-length lenses and the mirror reflex box permitted much longer length lenses.

Whatever their causes, injuries forced Griffey to miss 260 out of 486 games from 2002 through 2004. A coupling released both mirror and shutter to make the exposure. Many speculate the injuries are a result of a decade of playing on the Kingdome's artificial turf, which players claim is like playing the game on asphalt. Rather than using the camera's rangefinder, focusing was accomplished via a groundglass screen. From 2001 through 2004, Griffey was plagued by various injuries, and the last three of those years saw season-ending injuries. Conceptually bridging the Rangefinder Leicas and the SLR Leicas was the Leica Visoflex System, a mirror reflex box which attached to the lens mount of Leica rangefinders (separate versions were made for the screwmount and M series bodies) and accepted lenses made especially for the Visoflex System. Although his statistics during this season were respectable, they were far below his previous level of play, hitting .271 with 40 home runs, and playing 145 games. These include the Leotax, Nicca and early Canon models in Japan, the Kardon in USA, the Reid in England and the Fed and Zorki in the USSR.

The 2000 season began what has generally been seen by the media as a decline in Griffey's superstar status. A number of camera companies built models based on the Leica rangefinder design. However, his contract apparently includes backloaded payments which will be paid until 2024 [1]. No other lens has matched the Noctilux in its combination of speed, quality and longevity. It was the city in which he had grown up, and Griffey was reportedly very pleased to be playing on his father's former team -- on the open market, Griffey could have made several million dollars more than the contract offered by the small market and notoriously penurious Reds. Introduced in 1976, this ultra-high speed lens is still being made today. Initially, the future looked extremely bright for him there. Leica has in its stable a particularly remarkable lens, the Noctilux 50 mm f/1.0.

Griffey ultimately got his wish, and following the 1999 season, he was traded to father's former team, the Cincinnati Reds, for Mike Cameron, Brett Tomko, and Antonio Perez. Leica optics are particularly well-known for superior performance at maximum aperture, making them well-suited for natural-light photography. Although Griffey has always denied his concern with baseball records, that year it appeared that he had his ambitions set towards breaking Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. There has been much controversy about this. Griffey then stormed angrily to the Mariner dugout telephone, called the Mariners' general manager, and demanded to be traded that day. Leica lenses developed a mythology -- that photographs taken with them were recognizable from photographs taken with other lenses. In the summer of 1999, it was reported that Griffey hit a ball that would likely have been a home run in the Kingdome, but turned into a long fly-out to center in Safeco. From the 30s to the 50s, the Leica competed with the German Contax camera to be most sophisticated and best built camera on market.

This, combined with Safeco being at sea level, and Seattle's generally dense, moisture-laden atmosphere, helped create a "pitcher friendly" ball park. Leitz was also responsible for numerous optical innovations (first use of aspheric production lenses, first use of multicoated lenses, first use of rare earth lenses, to name a few). However, much to the players' chagrin, the architects designed a park with a deep center field. This and the high price of the optics made them less attractive to working photographers. It's been reported that Griffey, among other Mariners players, requested the architects of Safeco Field bring the fences closer to home plate. The optics were excellent, but Leica was slow to produce an auto-exposure model, and never made a version that supported auto-focusing. Also, there was speculation that Griffey was very unhappy with Seattle's new Safeco Field, in which it was much more difficult to maintain the level of power he had while playing in the Kingdome. The Leica SLRs were well-received.

Publicly, he expressed frustration over what he believed was a lack of commitment to winning from the management of the Mariners. The current model is the R9, which now has an optional Digital Module back. Despite Griffey's elite performances, and seemingly bright future in Seattle, he nonetheless became disenchanted with playing for the Mariners. The R8 was re-designed and manufactured by Leica, featuring a larger body and a new, distinctive look. That same year, he was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. They feature electronic shutter, except for the all-mechanical R6, whose only electronic part is the lightmeter. At 29 going on 30, he was easily the youngest player on the list. Leica also produced a series of SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras beginning with the Leicaflex, followed by the SL, the SL2, and then the R series from R3 to R7, which were initially made in collaboration with the Minolta Corporation .

Had the voting been done after 1998, he would have ranked higher. This model has continued to be refined (the latest versions being the M7 and MP, both of which have frames for 28, 35, 50, 75, 90, and 135 mm lenses which show automatically upon mounting the different lenses); but the basic quality and simplicity of design has not changed. This list was compiled during the 1998 season, counting only statistics through 1997. In addition, it had a new rubberized focal-plane shutter, which is known for reliability and is probably the quietest focal-plane shutter ever made. In 1999, he ranked Number 93 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. It combined the rangefinder and viewfinder into one large, bright viewfinder with a brighter double image in the center, and introduced a system of parallax compensation. was one of baseball's most respected and well liked players during the 1990s, as one could routinely see his picture on cereal boxes and television commercials, and he was a mainstay of the All-Star Game during the decade. In 1954 Leitz unveiled the M3, a bayonet lens model, considered by many to be a design miracle for its combination of simple appearance with functional flexibility.

For these reasons, Ken Griffey, Jr. These models all had a functional combination of circular dials and square windows that was quite esthetically pleasing, although somewhat busy in appearance. Griffey often made over the shoulder catches, the kind that Willie Mays immortalized during the 1954 World Series, with a play simply known as the Catch. The final version, the IIIg, included a large viewfinder with framelines, similar to the M3 finder, but still with the separate view- and rangefinder. His abilities in centerfield arguably were paralleled by no one. Leitz continued to refine the original design through to 1957. Griffey could hit with high average, batting over .300 for seven of the ten years of the 1990s, and hit with power as well, by hitting 422 home runs during the decade. Also significant about the IIIa is that it is the last model made before Barnack's death, and therefore the last model he was wholly responsible for.

He was a multi-dimensional player during a time when more and more players usually excelled at either hitting or fielding, but rarely both. The Leica III added slow shutter speeds down to 1 second, and the model IIIa added the 1/1000 second shutter speed. During Griffey's tenure with the Seattle Mariners, he established himself over the years as one of baseball's premier players, with the potential of being considered one of the greatest players ever. This model had a separate viewfinder (showing a reduced image) and rangefinder (showing an enlarged double image which was properly focused when it became one image). He won the American League Most Valuable Player award in 1997, hitting .304, with 56 home runs and 147 runs batted in. The Leica II came in 1932, with a built in rangefinder coupled to the lens focusing mechanism. Griffey's career began with the Seattle Mariners in 1989. In addition to the 50 normal lens, a 35 wide angle and a 135 mm telephoto objective were initially available.

played on the same team as his father with the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991. In 1930 came the Leica I Schraubgewinde with an exchangeable objective system based on a 39 mm thread. Griffey, Jr. The focal plane shutter had a range from 1/20 to 1/500 second, in addition to a Z for Zeit (time) position. As a Major League Baseball player he has often led the majors in major hitting statistics, and was awarded a Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence in 10 consecutive seasons, from 1990 to 1999, while playing center field for the Seattle Mariners. Max Berek at Leitz, and was one of the reasons behind the success of the camera, the others being its compact size and reliability. When he was in high school, he drew raves from Major League scouts for his batting swing, widely regarded as the best of his generation, and effortless fielding prowess. The Elmar 50 mm f/3.5 objective (a 4-elements design influenced by the Zeiss Tessar) was designed by Dr.

The younger Griffey played baseball at Moeller High School, a Catholic school in Cincinnati better known for its football program. The camera was an immediate success when introduced at the 1925 Leipzig, Germany Spring Fair as the Leica I (for Leitz Camera). played for the Cincinnati Reds. The concept was developed further, and in 1923 Barnack convinced his boss, Ernst Leitz II, to make a prototype series of 31. He was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father, Ken Griffey, Sr. Barnack's words, "Small negatives -- large images", would soon change the world of photography. . Barnack believed the 2:3 aspect ratio to be the ultimate choice, leaving room for a 36-exposure film length.

shares not only the same birthday, but also the same birth place as Hall of Famer Stan Musial. Barnack used standard cinema 35 mm film, but extended the image size to 24 x 36 mm. Ken Griffey Jr. Leitz Optische Werke, Wetzlar, in 1913. George Kenneth Griffey, Jr. (born November 21, 1969 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Donora, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player. The first prototypes were built by Oskar Barnack at E. The Leica was the first practical 35 mm camera.