Griffey found snoozing during game, report says

Ken Griffey Jr. was found sleeping in the clubhouse during a Seattle Mariners game last week, The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., reported.

Two Mariners players told the newspaper Griffey, the team's left-handed designated hitter, had gone back into the clubhouse during a game and stayed there, dozing in a chair.

"He'd gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn't come back," one unnamed player told The News Tribune . "I went back in about the seventh inning - and he was in his chair, sound asleep."

The question of Griffey's whereabouts had come up when reporters asked manager Don Wakamatsu why he hadn't used Griffey as a pinch-hitter during the game in question. Wakamatsu didn't answer directly.

Another Mariner told The News Tribune : "He doesn't sleep well at night, he's away from his family, he's comfortable in the clubhouse. They could have awakened him."

Griffey, 40, can't play the field because of problems with a surgically repaired knee. He was hitting .208 through Sunday.