Today after watching nearly 13 2/3rds of scoreless baseball between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks on the MLB Network I was greeted with the “breaking news” that Ken Griffey Jr. was going to retire. Others who are more talented and certainly more educated will speak of Griffey Jr.’s place in the annals of the game. Rattle off stats. Awards. His hat size.
Griffey, most recently in the news for a ill timed nap is a sure fire Hall of Famer. Most likely “first ballot”. His 630 home runs are all the more impressive because of the fact that he hasn’t been linked to steroids… and if it wasn’t for injuries we could be wondering if he would have pushed after the all time HR record.
He was an MVP. He won gold gloves. Silver Sluggers. All amazing things, but most importantly to me and millions of other baseball fans my age (I’m now 30)…
Ken Griffey Jr. was my favorite player while growing up.
Nicknamed “The Kid” because he broke into the majors at 19, and reinforced by his youthful exuberance on the field. For every home run he hit. Every amazing diving catch. When I hear the name Griffey Jr.? I picture a Mariners hat on backwards, and a huge smile. I picture someone having FUN. In this era of salary issues, and disgruntled players crying “ME ME ME”. Any time I think of The Kid I picture that smile. I wanted to play like that. I wanted to have fun like that. I wanted to wear #24, and any time I got to play centerfield on my Little League or All Star team I’d be incredibly happy because that was where my favorite player played. I saved my news paper route money so I could buy my first New Era Fitted Hat. Did I buy a Mets hat, who were and are my favorite team? No. I bought a Seattle Mariners hat because of Jr. So I could wear the hat backwards like I had seen on ESPN.
So I could take batting practice with it on, like I had seen in the Home Run Derby.
My uncle got my parents and I tickets to Yankee Stadium to see Seattle play… for the sole purpose of seeing Griffey Jr.
The sweetest left handed swing has made its final appearance. Pundits will now speak of Griffey’s place in history. His “Hall of Fame Resume”. “What could have been…”
I just want to thank Ken Griffey Jr. and hope he realizes what he meant to a generation of baseball fans. He is my definition of a “5 tool player”. Showing people that it is okay to have fun playing the game, and still play at the highest level.
I’m not sure why – maybe because I never viewed the Mariners as a threat to the teams I liked to watch, but I was definitely a fan of Ken Griffey Jr back in the day. I didn’t buy the hat, but I definitely had the video game… or at least played the heck out of my friend’s copy of the game.
In the question of Griffey vs Frank Thomas, I definitely said “Griffey”.
I was disappointed when he went to the Reds and didn’t do much. I thought it was a cool story for why he went there (his dad played there), and then it was just sort of an injury-laden career from then on.
Glad he had more than just a cup-o-coffee back in Seattle before he retired.
I have to say well done on the article man, and I’d add, with all of the “roids” accusations of the era, the fact that he accomplished what he did even with injuries and did so without any pharmaceutical suspicions has to make him look even greater in the minds of sports fans and Hall voters, not that he isn’t a lock, but more the percentage of votes he’d receive.
Also, looking back on his career I’d have to place him in the top five CF’s to ever play the game, and personally I’d put him second to only the great Willie Mays.
While not my all time favorite player…I really liked your tribute to him.
I wasn’t too much of a fan of Griffey, but he sure does have a sweet homerun swing. Shame that he was always hurt. McGwire and Sosa both would’ve needed more than steroids and corked bats to beat him.
I was very excited when there was talks of him going to Atlanta, because as fullbirdmusic said, he has a sweet swing. And he was definitely an MLB great. First ballot Hall of Famer.
I have always like Griffey also growing up, I am a Yankees fan so more of Jeter fan, but Griffey was always great to watch, and enjoyed how much fun he had playing.