Ken Griffey has signed with the Seattle Mariners.

The future hall-of-famer, who started his career with the Mariners 20 years ago, has decided to return to Seattle.

“I can’t begin to tell you how ecstatic all of us are,” commented team GM Jack Zduriencik after announcing the deal in a press statement. “He is as well. I spoke to [Griffey's agent, Brian Goldberg] a few minutes ago and he said that Ken is relieved and he is excited about coming back to Seattle.”

Griffey has officially signed a one-year contract with the Mariners, which includes performance and attendance incentives. His comeback to Safeco Field is expected to lure an additional 200,000 fans this season.

“This means a lot for this franchise,” Zduriencik said. “It means a lot from a baseball standpoint. We've talked all along about coming up with a left-handed hitter, and we have an opportunity to do that in bringing back Ken Griffey Jr. His leadership, his experience and him coming back is a tremendous, tremendous thing for this organization. From top to bottom, were very excited about him coming here.”

Zduriencik ended, “This is the one player, at the end of the day, that we thought we needed to bring home.”