Hanging Up the Cleats For Good

Yesterday was an incredible day in sports. It would be easy to talk about Serena Williams losing to 7th seeded Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals of the French Open. Then there is the unbelievable blown call by umpire Jim Joyce that cost Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga the 21st perfect game in MLB history. But today I can only talk about one topic. Me being me, I'm going to reminisce about the fantastic career of my favorite baseball player, Ken Griffey Jr. The reason why I'm remembering his career as a whole today is because the 13-time All Star announced his retirement yesterday.

Let's take a look back to the 1987 draft when the Seattle Mariners drafted him at the age of 17. He had tons of hype, coming out of Moeller HS in Cincinnati. Just a year and a half later, "The Kid" was the starting centerfielder for Seattle. Griffey hit a double in his first career at bat, and the first time he stepped up to the plate at the Kingdome, Seattle's old ballpark, he hit a home run. He made his first All Star team in his second MLB season, and in that game, he hit back-to-back home runs with his father, Ken Griffey Sr. He had an incredible 1990s decade before his injuries really started to kick in. Griffey hit over 40 home runs and over 100 RBIs for five consecutive seasons, from 1996-2000, and won the American League MVP in 1997 when he hit .304 with 56 home runs and 147 RBIs. In 1994, before the famous baseball strike, Griffey had 40 home runs and 90 RBIs through 111 games. Griffey was arguably the best player of the decade, but then when the 21st century rolled around, he was plagued with injuries that kept him from showing the world the real Ken Griffey Jr.

After 2000, the 10-time Gold Glove winner had seven seasons where he played less than 120 games. From 2002-2004 he played a total of just 206 games, an average of less than 70 a year. His first year in Cincinnati was the last time he hit over 100 RBIs in a season, and he hit .300 just once in the decade. Ken Griffey Jr. missed over 500 games in his career, but nonetheless, he retires as 5th on the all time home run list with 630. He finished his career with a .284 batting average and 1,836 RBIs. He was named to the MLB All-Century team, and won the Home Run Derby three times. Griffey stands out because in the era of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, his name was never associated with the word "steroids", and it never will be.

There's too much to say about the incredible career Griffey had. People can only speculate how many home runs he would have hit without all of the broken bones and torn tendons. Griffey deserves as much appreciation than anyone in baseball, and he is the reason why the Seattle Mariners are still a ballclub today. I know I'll be watching when Ken Griffey Jr. is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame six years from now. Farewell to one of the greatest players to ever pick up a bat.