A Tribute to Junior
Long before "Little E" was on the national scene as a sports icon with the moniker "Junior," another progeny was making headlines for his athletic prowess. Last week, Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 600th major league home run. I offer congratulations and tribute to a star.
When Griffey arrived in Seattle in 1989, he immediately made an impact on his team and enemies of fans of the other teams in their division. Seattle WAS the Texas Rangers' nemisis in those years and it seemed as though Junior was the fulcrum of the lever that sank our seasons summer after summer. Much like Kobe Bryant is today in basketball, Junior was the best in the game and could be counted on to disappoint opponents and their fans. When he left Seattle for Cincinnati following the 1999 season, I waved smilingly at his shadow as it moved off the Rangers.
In a career that has been robbed of perhaps 3 full seasons (and maybe more) by injuries, Mr. Griffey has still managed to post very impressive career stats. One need only wonder if he had stayed healthy, might he have been the One to surpass Ruth and Aaron. If he had been healthy enough to play in 500 more games, it is probable that he would have been hitting his 700th home run. Statistically, he averages a homer every 15 at bats. Baroid hit one every 13 at bats.
I marvel at the smoothness of his swing and the bat speed he still generates. Take a look at his production over those years that he played full seasons. Consistently good.
There are many players one can make those statements about - "if only..." Mickey Mantle of course comes to mind immediately for us NY Yankee fans. But still, there is something special about this guy and I don't recall reading about him abusing his wife or being locked up for drugs...
Way to go, Ken.
When Griffey arrived in Seattle in 1989, he immediately made an impact on his team and enemies of fans of the other teams in their division. Seattle WAS the Texas Rangers' nemisis in those years and it seemed as though Junior was the fulcrum of the lever that sank our seasons summer after summer. Much like Kobe Bryant is today in basketball, Junior was the best in the game and could be counted on to disappoint opponents and their fans. When he left Seattle for Cincinnati following the 1999 season, I waved smilingly at his shadow as it moved off the Rangers.
In a career that has been robbed of perhaps 3 full seasons (and maybe more) by injuries, Mr. Griffey has still managed to post very impressive career stats. One need only wonder if he had stayed healthy, might he have been the One to surpass Ruth and Aaron. If he had been healthy enough to play in 500 more games, it is probable that he would have been hitting his 700th home run. Statistically, he averages a homer every 15 at bats. Baroid hit one every 13 at bats.
I marvel at the smoothness of his swing and the bat speed he still generates. Take a look at his production over those years that he played full seasons. Consistently good.
There are many players one can make those statements about - "if only..." Mickey Mantle of course comes to mind immediately for us NY Yankee fans. But still, there is something special about this guy and I don't recall reading about him abusing his wife or being locked up for drugs...
Way to go, Ken.
posted by Kurt at 2:14 PM
1 Comments:
In the current sports world it's never safe to proclaim someone "clean" because you never know what's going on. And because the dollars are so big, people are willing to do stupid things. But you're right, Griffey has never been the lead on Sports Center for the wrong stuff. He came up to the bigs as a five tool star who played as hard as any journeyman gamer. And even when injuries and lousy teams were robbing him of his time in the spotlight, he still kept a great attitude. I hope the guy keeps his swing and his eye for a few extra years so he can DH in the AL long enough to get to 700. He is one of the guys that really does belong in the club with Aaron and Ruth
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