SARASOTA, Fla. -- Ken Griffey Sr. had been thinking about resigning from the Cincinnati Reds for quite some time, but stayed on because of his son.

"It's been on my mind for a year and a half," Griffey said Sunday.

Griffey, 51, resigned angrily as first base coach Friday because of how he was being treated. He returned to camp Saturday, talked with general manager Jim Bowden and accepted a position as a special consultant scouting Florida's east coast.

His son, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., returned to his hometown in a trade in February 2000 in part because his father was a Reds coach and he wanted to be closer to his family.

The elder Griffey said he wanted to return his son's loyalty.

"My son came because of me," he said. "It shows the character my son has; his devotion to family."

The team hasn't given a reason for Griffey's resignation. Jose Cardenal will take over for Griffey as first base coach.

After not talking with reporters in Florida on Saturday, Griffey said during his radio show on WCIN-AM in Cincinnati that he "was tired of being treated like dirt."

In a talk with reporters at camp Sunday, Griffey was more reserved in his remarks.

"I just figured it was time for me to leave," he said. "I just wasn't happy about doing what I was doing."

During the last two years, Griffey has missed time because of medical problems and his unhappiness with how he was treated by other members of the coaching staff.

He coached six seasons in Cincinnati, where he had designs on the managing job. He left the team in a huff before a game in 1998, when he was the batting coach and got miffed that others were working with hitters.

Griffey returned a day later, saying he felt he had been made a scapegoat for the team's offensive struggles. Griffey was unhappy that he didn't have more input in coaching decisions, and said he would no longer be a "patsy."

Griffey was briefly hospitalized for chest pains during the 2000 season.

He had to take off from June 18 to July 13 last season because a sore neck and degenerative disc in his back were causing too much pain. He also underwent tests in September after experiencing shortness of breath.

At the end of last season, he was moved into the role of bench coach to reduce the stress on his body.

"The day-to-day grind and trying to keep everybody else happy wasn't making me happy," Griffey said Sunday. "My health was suffering."

Also Sunday, Griffey responded to critical comments made last week against his son by former Reds Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young. The two said Junior Griffey lacked leadership and received special treatment that caused friction in the clubhouse and hurt the team's chemistry.

"Pokey and (Dmitri) are partners. They're both good kids. They stick up for each other," the elder Griffey said. "Pokey was frustrated and took it out on Junior. ... I don't think they meant to hurt anyone."