The Last of the Good Men

Throughout our lives, we have particular teams, cities, players, etc that we follow and come to love. They become the staple in our lives that we know will always be there. They are someone to look up to, other than mom and dad. From the point where I can remember watching the MLB, my favorite player, hands down no questions asked, has always been Ken Griffey Jr. I remember his amazing catches with the Seattle Mariners, a team he should have won his World Series ring with, but under achieved and could not get Griffey that unicorn ring (Maybe if A-Roid started juicing back than he could have done more to help). The big 3 for the Mariners Griffey, Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson were a serious force to be reckoned with back in the day playing at the Superdome.

We all remember Griffey's swing, purest swing I personally have ever seen. The way he would rock back, have the bat tight behind his head, a little wiggle of the barrel and then boom, the slight upper cut that helped him to accumulate 630 homeruns throughout his 22 year career. Even though he was one of the most injury ridden players, the amazing fact that he could still hit that many homeruns, is amazing. Griffey could do it all when he was coming up, 19 with a certain swag about him, a quiet confidence, that made everyone want to play like him. I remember playing ball with my friends throwing baseballs up towards the fence and trying to make a catch "like Griffey" did. He could cover 3/4 of the outfield by himself. Let's be honest, who wouldn't want to play the field like he did, amassing 10 Gold Gloves during his career, to go along with Rookie of the Year in '89, an MVP in '97, 13-time All Star, and 7 Silver Slugger awards to boot. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would become the next Homerun King, and over take Hank Aaron for his crown. But knee/leg injuries slowed him down and shortened his career. Still 22 seasons is quite the accomplishment. And don't forget Griffey's Homerun Derby appearances. He is the reason kids wear there hats backwards now, he made it look cool while he was up at the plate, whether taking BP, or at the Derby, with his smooth stroke and that big, can't miss smile on his face.

Most recently, all will remember the incident in Seattle, where he returned to play his final seasons, where he alledgely fell asleep in the club house while his manager was looking for him to pinch-hit. But that will soon be forgotten. The voters will not remember that when they are making him a First Ballot Hall of Famer, or when they will retire his number in Seattle. Griffey made baseball the "cool" sport to play back in the day, and we should be so lucky to have watched him grow up and play. I know watching him changed my mentality on and off the baseball diamond. When the Mitchell Report came out, I said to my friends "if Griffey is on that list I will never watch baseball again". And as the time came and passed, he was never even mentioned or suspected of using Performance Enhancing Drugs. Griffey returned to Seattle for a final hooray, but it wasn't so joyful, his bat slowed down, he wasn't as fast, and his playing time was cut, but that smile and backwards hat brought me back to a different time in my life. So thank you Griffey for all you have done.