Baseball Twitter impressed watching Ken Griffey Jr. taking batting practice at World Baseball Classic: "Hat still backwards" "Sweetest swing ever"

It was a blast from the past at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Friday as Team USA coach Ken Griffey Jr. got in the batting cage and showed that he still has the sweet swing that made him a Hall of Famer.

Griffey, a three-time Home Run Derby champion, began swatting the ball with impunity as USA players – many of whom grew up watching him play – stood with open jaws and smiling faces.

A 13-time All-Star, Griffey hit .284 with 630 home runs and 1,836 RBIs in a 22-year career with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a little bit thicker than he used to be, he's not as fleet of foot as he was when winning 10 Gold Glove awards and his youthful face is now swaddled in a salt-and-pepper beard – but the swing is every bit as glorious as it always was.

Another thing that Griffey hasn't lost is the trademark backwards ball cap. No MLB player ever wore his cap backwards with more style and panache than the 1997 American League MVP.

Given that the USA, a team that was billed as an offensive juggernaut heading into the WBC, hasn't exactly ripped the cover off the ball as expected through four tournament games, many fans are clamoring for Ken Griffey Jr. to suit up and play designated hitter in Saturday's game against Venezuela.

Ken Griffey Jr., now 53, was starring for the Mariners and Reds as many of the members of the U.S. roster grew up watching the game. It's a decent bet that many U.S. players had a Griffey shirsey or several of his baseball cards back in their younger days. Watching the reactions of the players is almost as much fun as watching Griffey swinging the bat.

Ken Griffey Jr. saved baseball in Seattle

Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners bats against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 15, 2009.

The Mariners were one of MLB's most woebegone franchises from their inception in 1977 until Ken Griffey Jr. showed up as a rookie 12 years later. There was very little fan support for the team – even in their own hometown – until Griffey debuted and made everyone pay attention.

He hit .292 with 417 home runs and 1,216 RBIs in 13 years with the Mariners, leading the team to its first two playoff appearances – the first of which, in 1995, saw Seattle make the American League Championship Series.

In 1988, the final year before Griffey debuted with Seattle, the Mariners drew just 1,022,398 fans and were looking at possibly moving to Tampa Bay. By 1999, his last season before a trade to Cincinnati, the team saw 2,916,346 fans show up as the Mariners moved into a brand new stadium in Seattle.