Ken Griffey Jr. retires

[PrivateO]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Aj9LQV7aPTyT9nR_h1_C71M5nYcB?slug=txmarinersgriffeyretir

Tough for him. Per Gary Thorne, he announced it to Wakamatsu, who spoke about it at a press conference.

Sounds like he till wants to desperately play, but just wasn't showing the offense that was expected of him.

[Mad Mark]

Too bad he didn't a) do this last year or b) hang on long enough to do a Cal and take a last "victory lap" around the league. I wish him the best in his next life.

[Icterus galbula]

Ken Griffey Batting Stats for Years 1993 to 1998Year 	       Tm 	G 	PA 	AB 	R 	H 	2B 	3B 	HR 	RBI 	SB 	CS 	BB 	SO 	BA 	OBP 	SLG 	OPS 	OPS+ 	TB 	GDP 	HBP 	SH 	SF 	IBB1993-1998 	SEA 	797 	3560 	3061 	629 	917 	162 	15 	263 	674 	83 	24 	434 	563 	.300 	.388 	.620 	1.008 	158 	1898 	60 	30 	1 	34 	97Average 	        133 	593 	510 	105 	153 	27 	2 	44 	112 	14 	4 	72 	94 						316 	10 	5 	0 	6 	16per 162 games 	        162 	723 	622 	128 	187 	33 	4 	54 	137 	17 	5 	89 	115 						386 	13 	7 	1 	7 	20

Behold his 162 game average in that period.

I had this poster on my bulletin board as a kid.

[Goop]

Griffey is definitely one of my favorite non-Orioles baseball players. I loved watching him as a kid. I wish he could have stayed healthy because there is no doubt in my mind that he would be the all-time home run king instead of Bonds.

[waroriole]

What a shame. He's one of the all time greats, and no doubt 1st ballot Hall of Famer. I wonder what %age of the votes he'll get. I could see him breaking Ryan's record. The absolute sweetest swing I've ever seen.

[scOtt]

I don't know what else to say, but farewell to a GREAT ballplayer. Jr. will be missed.

[berto]

Wish he retired before the season or last year. Definitely one of the greatest to ever play the game and it is a shame that he had to deal with all those injures because he would probably be the home run leader, have 3,000 hits, and the rest of his stats would be more impressive then they already are. No kid didn't like him growing up in that era, I mean how could you not, and his unique swing and swagger was classic.

[Abadie]

Anyone have a link to that Grand Slam he hit against us @ OPACY's? Day game, mid 90's off that crazy left hander we used to have w/the head jerk, Pennington?

Thanks.

[atom_25]

I remember absolutely idolizing him growing up. What a great player and was so much fun to watch play because he made it look so easy. I remember changing my swing to try to emulate his in high school- and going into a slump because of it. And still one of my best baseball memories is catching a homerun he hit into the bleachers.

[Mackus]

I think anyone who is around my age always had Griffey as their favorite player growing up, or at least their favorite player behind their local hero.

I've still got a box full of about a hundred Griffey cards at my parents house.

[NewMarketSean]

I was going to say, we should pick up Griffey since he can't be much worse than what we have. But then I looked at his stats this year. YIKES!

He was right to retire.

It's a shame injuries robbed him of a lot of his prime years. He could have legitimately broken Aaron's HR record.

[Frobby]

I'm glad he didn't drag this out until the end of the year, or put the team in a position where they had to ask him to quit.

Griffey was definitely one of my all-time favorites. And I pray -- PRAY! -- that it remains the case that there isn't any whiff of an accusation or evidence that he ever used PEDs. In an era of artificially enhanced performance, Griffey stands out as a true great.

[PaulFolk]

Anyone have a link to that Grand Slam he hit against us @ OPACY's? Day game, mid 90's off that crazy left hander we used to have w/the head jerk, Pennington?

Thanks.

I was at that game. Man, that was a blast. As I recall, Pennington came in with the bases loaded, threw a wild pitch that scored a run, and then served up one of the most monstrous homeruns in OPACY history, way over the right-field scoreboard. That was a bomb by Griffey.

[Tony-OH]

He's the best legitimate player of his era. Bar none. The guy in his prime good run, hit for power, and was a true gold glove center fielder.

He hung around too long like a lot of guys did, but he's one of the best who ever played and like Ripken, he's never been accused of steroids and that makes him pretty special in the steroid era that produced Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Bagwell, Caminiti, Palmeiro etc...

[mweb]

I think anyone who is around my age always had Griffey as their favorite player growing up, or at least their favorite player behind their local hero.

I've still got a box full of about a hundred Griffey cards at my parents house.

Nah, I went with the other most popular guy of the mid 90's, the Big Hurt!

Well an odd ending to a great career; you would think he would announce this at a press conference, rather than call his manager and let him tell everyone.

He was certainly one of the top CF's ever and one of the best players of a very strong generation (without considering steroids).