Corridor of Fame Baseball Participant Captures Iconic Photograph on the Masters

A shot of Rory McIlroy collapsing to the inexperienced simply moments after sinking the profitable putt at Augusta has already develop into certainly one of golf’s most unforgettable photographs.

One of many skilled photographers who captured this celebratory second was former outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. The Corridor of Famer is greatest recognized for his clean swing and spectacular catches throughout his 22-year Main League Baseball profession.

Griffey was new to the Georgia hyperlinks as knowledgeable, however McIlroy was a seasoned hand. The golfer, 35, had competed within the match 16 occasions earlier than, however the coveted inexperienced jacket had eluded him.

With the Masters win, McIlroy turns into the sixth golfer to realize a Grand Slam. In males’s golf, a Grand Slam is when a participant wins all 4 main tournaments — The Masters, the PGA Championship, the British Open, and the US Open — over the course of their careers.

Griffey, 55, made his Augusta Nationwide debut this weekend as an accredited member of the Masters media.

On Sunday, Griffey was noticed in a white Nike Cap and a sleeveless black jacket over a black polo.

NBC Sports activities mentioned in a put up on X Monday night time that his “digital camera work on Masters Sunday was unbelievable.”

“Whenever you hear you are going to shoot on the Masters, you wish to say sure actual fast,” Griffey informed Golf Journal on Saturday. “However then you definately’re like, ohhh, I am gonna must work on some issues.”

“It would not matter your standing in life, if it is one thing you do not do professionally and all people here’s a skilled, you are still nervous to stroll within the room,” he mentioned.

How would these guys really feel if all of us acquired right into a batting cage, and I used to be sitting there critiquing them? It is the identical factor.”

A consultant for Griffey didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.

From swing to shutter

Griffey, enshrined in Cooperstown in 2016 and seventh on MLB’s all-time house run listing, has been quietly constructing a second act behind the digital camera since retiring from baseball in 2010.

He picked up images after turning 35, hoping to remain targeted at his children’ sporting occasions — particularly along with his daughter, who, he mentioned, wished “to verify Dad is paying consideration,” Golf Journal reported.

Griffey has beforehand shot NFL and MLS video games — together with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami soccer sport — however McIlroy’s second may be the crowning jewel of his rising portfolio.

Griffey is not the one former sports activities star discovering new passions after retirement. San Francisco baseball star Barry Bonds is into biking, and NBA legend Karl Malone turned to truck driving. The 14-time All-Star now runs a number of companies, together with a trucking firm — and reportedly loves getting behind the wheel himself.

“It provides him time to suppose,” an affiliate informed The US Solar in 2023.

Different high athletes have develop into traders, particularly in tech and early-stage companies. Two-time World Cup champion Alex Morgan runs Trybe Ventures to put money into the sports activities house.

No less than one different baseball star has additionally discovered success behind the digital camera. Randy Johnson, a former MLB pitcher, has a portfolio spanning motorsports to African safaris.