Respecting Ken Griffey Jr.

Posted by Tim Malcolm, Mon, June 02, 2008 03:11 PM

Normally we try not to laud opposing players here at the Nation, but I couldn’t help but write a little something about one of my favorite childhood players, Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey begins a four-game swing in Philly tonight, and for him it could be a memorable one: He’s one home run away from breaking into the 600 Club. Its current members: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa.

Growing up, Griffey was my second-favorite player after Cal Ripken Jr. Why? The swing. The sweet, sweet, effortless swing and that very simple pose afterward. Griffey always made it look so easy when he rocked a ball out of the park. He was a superior athlete in his prime, not only hitting homers and extra-base hits, but playing sterling center field in Seattle.

For a time, Griffey made the Mariners the chic team in baseball. I remember salivating over the M’s dark teal vest uniforms. Yeah, I was a Mariners fan, if only for Griffey.

Sadly, injuries tripped Griffey from becoming the greatest everything to ever have played baseball. It’s very likely, if healthy, he would’ve eclipsed Hank Aaron’s 755 home runs — who knows what Bonds would’ve done instead. But Griffey, healthy or not, was a magical player, and still has the ability to wow a crowd. Tonight he’ll do that in Philly. It’s very likely there’ll be close to sell-out numbers for this four-game series — sure, the Phils in first place helps quite a bit, but no doubt everyone’s clamoring to see history and see Griffey do his thing one more time.

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6 Responses to “Respecting Ken Griffey Jr.”

  1. Phanatic74 Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    This the bottom line . . . . Yes, I want Junior to hit 600 in Philly, but not at the expense of the Phightins losing the game. So, if they can work out a deal beforehand that would be great. Anyway we are talking about the offensive machine known as the Philadelphia Phillies! Crazy “K” better be on his “A” game tonight so we get off to a good start . . . . .

  2. Mike T. Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Tim, Griffey was also my 2nd favorite player growing up, behind Cal of course.

  3. Geoff Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm

    Griffey is from Pittsburgh originally, from Monessen, went to Montour High School I believe. When I was at Pitt my friends dad had said that he knew him from high school. Surely enough, he produced a class photo of them. Aside from that tidbit, Ive always admired Griffey. With the 1998 home run race between mcgwire and sosa, if you recall, griffey was actually in the hunt for a good chunk of the season. i was pulling for him to get it over the other two but i think he got hurt.

  4. TJ Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    It would be great to see him crush one off of Eaton to break the record. Hopefully it’s just a solo shot and the Phillies are leading by 10.

    Griffey is one of the all-time greats and it would be great to witness history. He’s sitting out tonight, but odds are, against Eaton, then Myers in the bandbox…it’s practically inevitable.

  5. bill Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    Imagine if the Phillies went after Griffey when Seattle put him on the block instead of bringing back Doug Glanville!

  6. Phil Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    I am going to tomorrow and Wednesday nights game to hopefully witness history in the making. Speaking of Griffey’s sweet, sweet swing, you know who has a similar swing with a lot less accuracy but much more power? Ryan Howard.

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