Griffey Retires
Dave · June 2, 2010 at 4:36 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Per Ryan Divish on twitter, the M’s have just called an impromptu press conference to announce Ken Griffey Jr’s retirement.
We’ll deal with what this means for the 2010 Mariners tomorrow. I know a lot of you love the guy, so this thread is for you to say goodbye.
“And that ball is belted…”
I used to stay up past my bedtime in 1991, ’92, ’95, with my bedside radio on ever so slightly to listen to the last hour and a half of the games.
“…deep to right field…”
When all my friends wanted to sit in the left field bleachers at the Kingdome, I absolutely insisted on sitting in right field. Still my favorite place in the ballpark, and I even proposed to my (ex)-fiance in the right field bleachers at SAFECO.
“…and that one will… fly away!”
For the little things I’ll always remember that I did and do because of you, to the memories of amazing catches, the most beautiful swing in baseball history, and that effervescent smile. For being The Kid.
“…My oh My!”
Thank you Junior.
Thanks Griff! You truely are one of the greats. I’m glad you got to come back here and finish.
Thanks for all the awesome memories Junior! One thing I really miss is the shot in the dugout after Junior would hit a homerun – with John “Airtime” Marzano managing to always get next to Junior on the bench!
Thanks for all the memories Junior. I grew up in Southern California watching you at the big A. I was one of the few Mariner fans sitting in the sea of red at every M’s series. The M’s will win a World Series someday and although you wont be on the field celebrating, the championship will be as much yours as it is anyones.
Kid, you will be missed more than this city can ever show you. Even in my five years in Spokane, you were revered as a hero and the Pacific Northwest will always be here for you, should you and your family ever return.
Thank you for the memories I will one day tell my grandchildren about. It was an honor to watch you play.
This morning I am an old man and mourning what has been lost: loved ones, relationships, abilities, opportunities, youth. But there is a place where The Kid will always roam centerfield.
“People will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn into your driveway, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack…And they’ll walk off to the bleachers and sit in their short sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines where they sat when they were children, and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as if they’d dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces… People will come, Ray…The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers; it has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again. Ohhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come…”
Thank you Mr. Kinsella, and thank you George Kenneth Griffey Junior.
Thanks for saving Seattle baseball Griffey!
Junior retiring makes me sad and very angry also.
If only the bullpen hadn’t been so shitty.
If only Figgins, Lopez, and Kotchman hadn’t been hitting like crap until we were almost out of it.
If only Rob Johnson and Moore hadn’t played like defensive bozos out there.
If only RRS hadn’t pitched like one of the worst starters in the whole league.
If only these players hadn’t underperformed so badly, the Mariners would probably be in first place in the West, Junior would still be playing and possibly on his way to his first World Series appearance ever.
It wouldn’t have come down to this, and the whole degrading Napgate mess would never have happened. Instead, we see a great player’s career coming to an unfitting sad end.
Junior’s performance was only a small part of this team’s crappy record, no matter how much he was being made a scapegoat on the Mariner blogs.
Man, this makes me really sad (and also pissed off at the fucks who underperformed so badly).
Man, this makes me really sad (and also pissed off at the fucks who underperformed so badly).
Does this include Junior, or is he exempt from ever having to perform up to a reasonable standard?
Also, you know, Junior HAD his chances- as recently as 2008, where he hit .200/.273/.200 in those playoffs.