Ken Griffey Jr. received a congratulatory letter on his retirement from the guy who launched his professional baseball career 23 years ago. “If I can ever be helpful to you, please don’t hesitate to call,” billionaire George Argyros wrote to the future Hall of Famer. Argyros, then owner of the Seattle Mariners, selected Griffey with the first pick in the 1987 draft. He says “it did help” to have the rookie phenom when he sold the Mariners in 1989 for a reported $76 million, almost six times what he paid for the team seven years earlier. A story persists in the Seattle media that Argyros wanted to draft Cal State Fullerton pitcher Mike Harkey instead of Griffey and had to be talked out of it by his scouting director. “Bull(bleep),” Argyros says. Griffey hit 630 homers in 2,671 games, while Harkey, chosen fourth by the Chicago Cubs, was limited by injuries to a career 36-36 record …
But Harkey, a Chino Hills resident, is still in the game: He’s bullpen coach of the world champion New York Yankees and recently was made interim pitching coach. Son Tony also played baseball for the Titans. Son Cory is a tight end on the UCLA football team …
Alpha, Yes We Can—the winning team in the UCI Merage School’s annual Polaris Investment Competition that concluded last month—returned 45.6%, easily beating the 15.2% return of the Wilshire 5000 and earning each of the team’s six MBA students a $6,838 scholarship. Two of the other five teams also beat the benchmark index. The program was developed by Newport Beach hedge fund manager Chuck Martin (Mont Pelerin Capital), who screens participants and gives them at least $1 million to invest for him. In six years, he has rewarded the top performers with 83 scholarships totaling about $550,000—and hired two of them …
Huffington Post’s pick for “best dressed at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings?” Chapman U law prof Ron Rotunda, who sported a yellow bowtie and burgundy suit to testify against Elena Kagan … The Newport Beach Breakers now play at the Tennis Club of Newport Beach. Laguna Beach resident Lindsay Davenport is set to be on the court Thursday, Maria Sharapova on July 20 and John McEnroe on July 22 … The Human Options benefit at the Balboa Bay Club raised $435,000 …
June 21 was a big day for Guy Lemmon: He got a tentative lease to operate the OC Fair & Event Center and he got a granddaughter. In fact, Lemmon, point man for proposed fairgrounds operator Facilities Management West, missed the Costa Mesa City Council meeting where the deal was approved because he was in Phoenix for his daughter’s Caesarean delivery. Mom and baby are doing fine, says Lemmon, who finds similarities between the birth of a baby and the conclusion of a deal: “A celebratory mood followed by a lifetime of challenges.”
