Griffey Calls it Quits

Ken Griffey Jr. retires as 5th highest home run hitter of all time (courtesy USPresswire)

He was class in cleats. He single-handedly saved a franchise. And now, he goes out the way he wanted to. Ken Griffey, Jr., former MVP and 13-time All-Star, announced his retirement before Wednesday night's game between the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. The flashy center fielder totaled 630 home runs over a 22-year career, 417 with the Mariners in what arguably were his finest years. A star from the time he was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft, Griffey played 22 years in the majors with Seattle, his hometown Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. He hit .284 with 1,836 RBI. His greatest feat may have been the fact that he almost single-handedly saved the Seattle franchise from relocating, turning the franchise into immediate contenders and helping to prompt the decision to build Safeco Field, and keep the team in Seattle after years of rumors of relocation.

In a statement released by the Mariners, Griffey said

"While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction."

 

"I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be," he said.

Rob Johnson, the Mariners' catcher whose locker was just a few feet from Griffey's, said "I think it's pretty easy for me to personally say he's the greatest player to ever play this game. He did everything. He wasn't just a home run hitter. The guy played outfield as good or better than anyone ever played. ... To me he is the greatest player to ever live and to get a chance to play with him and to get to sit next to his locker is pretty special." Mariners' president Chuck Armstrong took the call from Griffey regarding his retirement, and manager Don Wakamatsu gathered the team together to inform them before their game with the Twins. It should also be noted that Griffey's name was never linked to performance enhancing substances, something that certainly can't be said for his contemporaries such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. 

Griffey also paid the price in the latter years of his career for his reckless, all-out style of play, missing parts of many seasons due to injury. While Sosa and McGwire were never considered "complete" players, Griffey was the very definition of a complete player, a five-tool player who never gave up on any aspect of his game. Griffey also lived one his all-time dreams, when, one year after his major league debut, he played with his father, Ken Griffey Sr., and the two hit back-to-back home runs in one game.

While there are a myriad of highlights that are littered throughout Ken Griffey Jr.'s career, one alone stands out to this writer, and speaks directly to the character of the man. Griffey returned to the Mariners in 2009 and almost single-handedly transformed what had been a fractured, bickering clubhouse with his leadership, energy and constant pranks. His teammates, to a man, loved and respected him, and he constantly gave back just by leading by example. The game of baseball will sorely miss Ken Griffey Jr...

 

Have you had an opportunity to check out www.diy-sports.com/?refId=1110 yet? A great MMORPG baseball game that's growing fast.. Check it out !!