Now, back in Altoona for a rehab assignment, he’s 20 and has acclimated himself to the Major Leagues with relative ease, including a new contract extension worth $140 million which is 10 million Curve Burgers for those keeping track at home.

“It’s been a crazy few months since I was last here in Altoona,” Griffin said following Wednesday’s game. “I just feel like I’ve grown a lot as a player and as a person, away from the field.”

Despite being in the big leagues and building a name for himself there, Griffin was still the youngest guy on the Curve roster by nearly two years. It’s something he’s grown accustomed to hearing.

“It’s weird being in the big leagues, I feel like you just mature and grow up, and I mean, you’re around a lot of older guys, so I just kind of kept that same feeling when I was out there,” Griffin said.

Curve's Konnor Griffin is hit by a the pitch from Reading pitcher Gage Wood in his first at bat. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Many of the guys Griffin took the field with have been his teammate before, or were a part of his draft class, which made his rehab appearance a welcomed reunion of sorts.

“I’ve got a lot of good friends here, and it’s just fun to sit down and talk about, whether it’s game stuff, or you know, how we travel, or little things like that,” Griffin said. “It’s fun to just tell stories about the stuff I’ve been through, and hopefully that a lot of the guys here will be doing it too soon.”

He spent 21 games with Altoona last year, but his time with the Curve has been a major part of his development on and off the field.

“It’s been cool to keep grinding through the minor leagues like I have and get to the big leagues and try to make my mark there, but I never forget, you know, the little pieces that I learned here in Altoona,” Griffin said. “If I’m ever going through a tough time, I kind of will look back at swings from the minor leagues. I had a lot of good swings here in Altoona, so I love looking at that, and never forgetting what I learned at different stops.”

His success both on the field with the Pirates and his development comes as no surprise to Curve manager Andy Fox who has had a front row view at a lot of games that have featured Griffin.

“He’s just kind of kept his trajectory going,” Fox said. “For me, it’s just been the consistency of play, and the confidence. Especially watching him play in the big leagues, just becoming confident, being able to play at that level. You have to have confidence, and he’s kind of showing it.”

Fans in Altoona got to see that confidence grow first hand last year as Griffin got adjusted to high-level minor league baseball.

“The first time I played here last year, probably the biggest crowd I played in front of, so it’s cool playing in front of 30,000 people, and then you come back to Altoona, you don’t feel just as overwhelmed,” Griffin said. “It’s a little smaller stadium, stuff like that, so it can kind of feel comfortable, and I saw a lot of Pirates jerseys, saw my jersey out there in the stands, so it’s just cool to see the fans show out. I enjoyed being here when I was here last year, and it’s good to be back a little bit.”

While it might be good for Griffin to have a taste of Altoona and being around some old friends, it’s no shock he’s ready to get back to Pittsburgh and help the Pirates. Though, he’s stayed positive throughout this experience.

“I felt like I was really getting comfortable up there in the big leagues,” Griffin said. “I totally found the positives. I got to go to Florida and really just focus on some things I wanted to work on, and didn’t have to worry about playing games every day, and so I just tried to try to keep a positive mindset, and just take it as a time to grow, come back and try to keep it rolling when I get back.”