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| Ken
Griffey Jr.: You deserve better 04/17/2008 I don't feel like I'm going out on a limb when I say that Ken Griffey Jr. was the unanimous favorite baseball player of Little Leaguers of my generation. He had it all. Griffey was young, hit home runs, had the purest and prettiest swing of anyone playing baseball at the time and he was an elite centerfielder. I can't even tell you how many kids I would see attempting to mimic his batting stance and swing in Little League, dozens really. Every kid would try to stand straight up, hold the bat close to their back ear, swinging the bat slightly and bouncing a bit on their front foot. In 2000, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds to be closer to his aging father. And, I can't recall if it was 2001 or 2002, Griffey got hurt pretty badly. He missed a lot of time. In those few years, he probably missed about 300+ games, but still played on. I bring up Griffey because yesterday, Griffey hit his 596th home run. He is approaching the 600 HR club and the only men in that group are Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660) and Sammy Sosa (609). Keep in mind, Bonds cheated and so did Sosa. So with Griffey, we've got a player who did it the right way. A player that some time ago was the sports most elite superstar. He had his own shoe, a few video games, and endorsements. He tutored Alex Rodriguez at the beginning of his career. And in comparison, Griffey passed on any number of possible contract offers to play for Cincinnati and therefore accepted an agreement for much less money. While A-Rod, as you probably recall, signed a contract which was the largest contract of all time for the Texas Rangers. The larger point here is that Griffey played and did it the right way. He didn't do steroids. He could've just retired after his major injuries. Without those injuries, he could have another 100+ home runs. He could be on the heels of Barry Bonds and rescuing the game from it's near dead status. And what have you heard on ESPN about this? 596! home runs. Nothing. They don't give him any love. They don't have some kind of 600 HR countdown. They don't talk about it for more than two seconds. But honestly, Griffey will always hold a small sentimental piece of my heart, right next to the part of me who loves baseball because of Little League, because of my childhood, and he'll always be a part of me... And I can say without a doubt, hundreds of thousands of people feel the same way, even if they don't realize it just yet. Griffey, you deserve much better.
Griffey's return to Seattle, hits a HR on the first pitch. Keep an eye out on his stance and his hand speed through the swing. That's major league baseball right there. |