Every kid that has ever traded baseball cards in the 80’s and 90’s know one of the holy grails in trading: The 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Card. This was the magical card that was worth $50.00 according to Beckett – and happened to be the ONLY one that was worth anything at the time. By just these facts, Ken Griffey Jr. became one of my childhood idols. But as childhood idols go, I lost track of baseball and forgot about baseball cards. I knew he was still playing, but it just wasn’t a priority to my teenage mind. High School came and left. College came and… Continued to come. Jeff was covering Ichiro while working for the Nichi Bei Times and it started to spark my interest in baseball and the Mariners. And then Alycia came onto the scene and it was all over. Baseball was back in my life again! I couldn’t call myself a fan of the game (I thought at the time Derek Jeter was a pitcher – a fact she continues to laugh about to this day!) but thanks to the internet, I caught up on the 10 years of baseball I missed.
Most of my old “heroes” left the game but not Junior. Sure, he wasn’t playing for the Mariners any more, but his excuse was admirable. He wanted to be closer to his family and play for the team that his father helped bring to the World Series.
I loved the 2007 story about Junior’s first time back in Seattle in interleague play. The fans gave their old hero a four minute standing ovation and continued to show support throughout the 3 game series even though he was playing in the visitor’s dugout. He reflected after the series that he would love to return to Seattle and retire as a Mariner someday.
Then, in 2009 the magical signing happened. Junior had an opportunity to sign with either the Braves or the Mariners. Supposedly he was leaning toward signing with the Braves to be close to his home in Orlando but he eventually ended up signing with the Mariners.
I followed the 2009 Mariners – it was a great time to be a fan. The Mariners were coming off of one of the worst seasons where reporters noted the lack of chemistry in the dugout. Junior is credited by single handedly turning the mood around and bringing back the excitement to the Mariners. Throughout the year, we heard about his walk off home runs and his jokes he would play. His 2009 season ended with his teammates carrying him around the ball park one last time.
Or so we thought.
He signed on again for the 2010 season, but people noted that he wasn’t quite the same. He was getting older and time was finally catching up to him. He still managed to pull off a game winning hit this year, but it was obvious that he was getting less and less playing time. A report came out about him sleeping through a pinch hitting opportunity. This last week, we saw little sight of him. Then, just yesterday he announced his retirement. It was a simple written statement telling us he didn’t want to be a distraction to the team he loves. He thanked his family for their sacrifices, the fans that supported him and his teammates that loved him. And then he was gone. No fanfare, no emotional goodbye - just a note a few hours before the game and he was on his way home.
The mood of the game yesterday was somber. Bradley noted that ‘On a day like this, it should rain in Seattle.’ The cameras caught self labeled tough guy wiping his eyes at the end of the tribute video playing on the big screen. He had a good day with a lead off single and two stolen bases. He attributes it to wanting to win for Junior.
“I had somebody else’s legs out there today. … I was full of a lot of emotions and wanted, especially, to get a win tonight so Junior’s retirement would be right.
I hit left-handed because of Griffey. I wanted to play baseball, be an outfielder, make diving catches, style on a home run, because of Griffey. Guys like him don’t come around every day. He’s just as magical off the field as on it.”
- Milton Bradley after the game
Ichiro struggled at the plate with three strike outs but managed to hit a game winning infield single in the 10th inning. In rare fashion, he gave a display of emotion after watching the winning run cross home plate. His comments after the game sum up his emotions.
“Junior is a very special player to myself. … I don’t know how to explain it in words, but that’s how much feeling I have for him. I’m sure all of our players in the clubhouse wanted to win for Junior. It was a very important game because of what happened today.
Every moment with him is a treasure deep within my heart. I have played 19 years of professional baseball, and I could say he was one of my best teammates, and my friend as well.”
- Ichiro after the game
I admire Junior a great deal for all his accomplishments on and off the field. His work with kids who are terminally ill deserve recognition, but he’s too modest for that kind of stuff. He does it because he genuinely cares. I’ll miss his presence in the game, but I hope that he enjoys his retirement knowing he was one of the best in baseball. There’s so much more to say about him and what I’ll miss, but like Ichiro said, it’s hard to explain in words. So I’ll just end with a thank you.
Thank you for the memories Junior, you have been the perfect role model for our generation.
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Now if only your rookie card would reach $50 again…
Jun 3, 2010
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