Ken Griffey Sr. says that his son is both happy and relieved to have retired from the game of baseball. "One thing I noticed yesterday when I talked to him while he was driving home, he sounds very happy. It was kind of a relief," Griffey Sr. said Friday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "The biggest relief was him getting to go home and be with his family." Griffey Sr. also said Junior's pride was wounded when Seattle benched the slumping .184-hitter for most of his final two weeks. "He's got a lot of personal pride, OK? And you sit there and not get a chance to play and a week or 10 days go by ... what kind of contribution can you give a team when you are not playing?" the elder Griffey said. "He's just not going to sit there. He's got a lot of personal pride. He thought he could still contribute. ... I mean, he doesn't have to prove anything to anybody."