June 8, 2010
Great Debut
Rookie Outfielder Mike Stanton of the Florida Marlins went 3-5 with 2 runs in his MLB debut tonight. It was without a doubt the biggest news in baseball. I can't believe there was anything else bigger that happened but I'll look into it.
June 3, 2010
The End of an Era
Yesterday, the biggest sports story SHOULD have been Ken Griffey Jr's retirement from baseball. Backwards hats, sweet swings, great plays, the Kingdome, and genuine smiles from "The Kid" should have been flashing all over TV screens across America throughout the night. Instead, I had to watch Jim Joyce miss a call over and over again in possibly the most memorable umpiring blunder ever.
A quick tangent: what's the worst blown call in history? Do you say the Joyce call because of the personal milestone that was denied, or do you go with the 1985 Don Denkinger call in Game 6 of the World Series? One cost an individual a spot in history, the other cost a team a World Series. There's not a right answer. Also, I would put clips in here of both but Major League Baseball sucks. Nice going, MLB. Way to keep with the times.
But as I've thought more about Griffey retiring, the more I've realized that we said goodbye long ago. Now, it just feels a little like Billy Haywood cutting Jerry Johnson Sure, he's been in uniform and played some games, but the Griffey that I grew up with, "The Kid", has been gone for quite some time. For a few years now, many of us have played the ever-popular "What if?" game like Griffey was already a footnote in history. It's a fun game to play, to think that someone could have held the home run record that we actually liked, but it ignores the grace and greatness that defined Junior's career. So I'm not going to say, "Oh if Griffey had stayed healthy, oh man history would be different!". Similar to how people try to approach a funeral for someone who has lived a full life, let's not dwell on the sadness for days lost, but revel in the greatness of the times left behind.
630 Home Runs, 1,836 RBIs, 1990-1999 Gold Glove Winner, 1997 AL MVP, 13 All-Star Games...if you want me to list all of the accomplishments, e-mail me and ask me to write you a separate paper (or look it up yourself). But this just gives you an idea of just how well-rounded "The Kid" was. He wasn't some power hitter bolted down at 1st Base nor was he a corner outfielder that made you cringe every time the ball was hit in his direction (think Barry Bonds for the last few years; the years when the size of his head made turning and tracking a fly ball tough to do). Griffey wasn't only one of the three best hitters in the game--he was one of the three best defensive players in the game. He could change a game defensively and offensively. But in all honesty, despite the magnitude of his on the field ability, Junior became the icon that he is off of the field.
Of all of the stars that have played baseball, of all of those legends that we revere, not one has made baseball fun the way that Junior did. Basketball had Michael Jordan. He brought in baggy shorts, bald heads, and made Nike THE brand. Griffey's impact wasn't quite to that extent, but he got closer than any baseball player ever has or ever will. For me, it's awesome watching guys like Pujols who are workmanlike and work themselves as hard as physically and mentally possible to be the greatest players that they can. But, not meant as a detriment to them, they are not what drew me to baseball.
Backwards hats and big smiles drew me to baseball. Kids don't run around wanting to study video and work on their swings--they want to turn their hat around, hit a home run, and mess around with their friends while they do it. Griffey played baseball the way all kids do--happy-go-lucky. He loved the game and showed it. For him, the game was to him what it is (or was) to all of us--the greatest game in the world. Not a job but a game that he got to play, and play well.
So here's my final tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. So long to the final relic of my childhood baseball dreams. Just as Jordan's impact on basketball changed the game forever, so too will Junior's impact stay with baseball. Some people want to refer to the 1990s and early 2000s as the Steroid Era, but I'm going to go ahead and stick with the Era of The Kid. Baseball will never see another like you, Ken Griffey Jr., but we can hope that someone follows in your footsteps. Thanks for the pure home runs, the highlight-reel catches, and for helping to keep baseball in Seattle. But most of all, thank you for the backwards hat. May The Kid's smile brighten baseball for years to come.
A quick tangent: what's the worst blown call in history? Do you say the Joyce call because of the personal milestone that was denied, or do you go with the 1985 Don Denkinger call in Game 6 of the World Series? One cost an individual a spot in history, the other cost a team a World Series. There's not a right answer. Also, I would put clips in here of both but Major League Baseball sucks. Nice going, MLB. Way to keep with the times.
But as I've thought more about Griffey retiring, the more I've realized that we said goodbye long ago. Now, it just feels a little like Billy Haywood cutting Jerry Johnson Sure, he's been in uniform and played some games, but the Griffey that I grew up with, "The Kid", has been gone for quite some time. For a few years now, many of us have played the ever-popular "What if?" game like Griffey was already a footnote in history. It's a fun game to play, to think that someone could have held the home run record that we actually liked, but it ignores the grace and greatness that defined Junior's career. So I'm not going to say, "Oh if Griffey had stayed healthy, oh man history would be different!". Similar to how people try to approach a funeral for someone who has lived a full life, let's not dwell on the sadness for days lost, but revel in the greatness of the times left behind.
630 Home Runs, 1,836 RBIs, 1990-1999 Gold Glove Winner, 1997 AL MVP, 13 All-Star Games...if you want me to list all of the accomplishments, e-mail me and ask me to write you a separate paper (or look it up yourself). But this just gives you an idea of just how well-rounded "The Kid" was. He wasn't some power hitter bolted down at 1st Base nor was he a corner outfielder that made you cringe every time the ball was hit in his direction (think Barry Bonds for the last few years; the years when the size of his head made turning and tracking a fly ball tough to do). Griffey wasn't only one of the three best hitters in the game--he was one of the three best defensive players in the game. He could change a game defensively and offensively. But in all honesty, despite the magnitude of his on the field ability, Junior became the icon that he is off of the field.
Of all of the stars that have played baseball, of all of those legends that we revere, not one has made baseball fun the way that Junior did. Basketball had Michael Jordan. He brought in baggy shorts, bald heads, and made Nike THE brand. Griffey's impact wasn't quite to that extent, but he got closer than any baseball player ever has or ever will. For me, it's awesome watching guys like Pujols who are workmanlike and work themselves as hard as physically and mentally possible to be the greatest players that they can. But, not meant as a detriment to them, they are not what drew me to baseball.
Backwards hats and big smiles drew me to baseball. Kids don't run around wanting to study video and work on their swings--they want to turn their hat around, hit a home run, and mess around with their friends while they do it. Griffey played baseball the way all kids do--happy-go-lucky. He loved the game and showed it. For him, the game was to him what it is (or was) to all of us--the greatest game in the world. Not a job but a game that he got to play, and play well.
So here's my final tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. So long to the final relic of my childhood baseball dreams. Just as Jordan's impact on basketball changed the game forever, so too will Junior's impact stay with baseball. Some people want to refer to the 1990s and early 2000s as the Steroid Era, but I'm going to go ahead and stick with the Era of The Kid. Baseball will never see another like you, Ken Griffey Jr., but we can hope that someone follows in your footsteps. Thanks for the pure home runs, the highlight-reel catches, and for helping to keep baseball in Seattle. But most of all, thank you for the backwards hat. May The Kid's smile brighten baseball for years to come.
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