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06-02-2010, 09:52 PM
Mariners' Griffey calls it a career

Associated Press

SEATTLE -- The Kid has called it quits.

Just the way Ken Griffey Jr. wanted, there will be no farewell tour for one of the greatest players in baseball history. Instead, Griffey simply informed the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night his career was over.

The 40-year-old Griffey unexpectedly announced his retirement before Seattle's game against Minnesota on Wednesday after 22 seasons, 13 all-star appearances and widespread acclaim as one of the greatest players of his generation.

Stuck in a limited role as a backup designated hitter and spot pinch-hitter, Griffey called Mariners' team president Chuck Armstrong and said he was done playing. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu called his players together before the start of batting practice to inform them of Griffey's decision.

"While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction," Griffey said in a statement.

"I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be," he said.

Griffey was not in the clubhouse before the game, and the team said he would not be at Safeco Field.

Milton Bradley, Griffey's teammate for only a few months, turned to Mike Sweeney during batting practice and said, "on a day like this, it should rain in Seattle."

Griffey was hitting only .184 with no homers and seven RBIs this year and recently went a week without playing. There was a report earlier this season -- which Griffey denied -- that he'd fallen asleep in the clubhouse during a game.

He ends his career fifth on the all-time home run list with 630. He won an MVP award and was an 11-time Gold Glover. The only thing missing on his resume was a trip to the World Series.

"It's a sad day for the Mariners, our fans, for all the people in the community that have loved Ken, admired him as a tremendous baseball player and a great human being," Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said. "It's always tough for great superstars like Ken or anyone else to make a decision to retire. This has been his life for so many years, but he has made his decision and will support it. We will honor him in every way possible."

A star from the time he was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft, Griffey played 22 years in the majors with Seattle, his hometown Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. He hit .284 with 1,836 RBIs.

But his greatest seasons, by far, came in Seattle.

Griffey played in 1,685 games with Seattle and hit .292 with 417 homers, most coming in the homer-friendly Kingdome, and 1,216 RBIs. He won the AL MVP in 1997 and practically saved a franchise that was in danger of relocating when he first came up.

Griffey returned to the Mariners in 2009 and almost single-handedly transformed what had been a fractured, bickering clubhouse with his leadership, energy and constant pranks.

Griffey signed a one-year deal last November for one more season in Seattle after he was carried off the field by his teammates after the final game of 2009. Griffey hit .214 last season with 19 homers as a part-time DH. He was limited by a swollen left knee that required a second operation in as many offseasons.

"Of course it surprised us. You never know what is in a players mind. They debate things here and there and in this particular case Ken made his decision and there wasn't anything anybody could say," Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "You support him, you're behind him and again, he's a legacy in this community and certainly in the game of baseball."

His career is littered with highlights, from homering in eight straight games to tie a major league record in 1993, to furiously rounding third and sliding home safe on Edgar Martinez's double to beat the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series in 1995. His first major league at-bat was a double and Griffey homered the first time he stepped to the plate at home.

A year after making his big league debut, Griffey enjoyed one of his greatest highlights. Playing with his All-Star dad, Ken Griffey, they hit back-to-back home runs in a game for the Mariners.

For a time in the 1990s, he was considered the best player in baseball. And during the Steroids Era, his name was never linked to performance-enhancing drugs, a rarity among his contemporaries such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

"I think it's pretty easy for me to personally say he's the greatest player to ever play this game," said Seattle catcher Rob Johnson, whose locker was just a few feet from Griffey's. "He did everything. He wasn't just a home run hitter. The guy played outfield as good or better than anyone ever played. ... To me he is the greatest player to ever live and to get a chance to play with him and to get to sit next to his locker is pretty special."

Griffey also is regarded as the player who helped keep the Mariners in Seattle, a point Armstrong noted during an impromptu gathering just a few steps from the batter's box at Safeco Field. It was Seattle's unlikely late season playoff run in 1995, spurred by the return of Griffey from injury, that led to the construction of Safeco Field and the future security of a franchise rumored for years to be on the move.

Once he left Seattle for the Reds, injuries began to take their toll and his production started to decline. Griffey's final hit, during his lackluster final season, was fittingly a game-winning pinch-hit single against Toronto on May 20.

Colorado manager Jim Tracy and others were surprised as the news of Griffey's decision began to make its way around baseball.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5244661

kmsteelerwr15
06-02-2010, 10:08 PM
Very sad to see him go. He is my favorite all-time player and unfortunately injuries held back an already HOF career.

Nadroj 20
06-02-2010, 10:12 PM
One of the bests!

Great career, hate to see him go but dang 22 seasons.

SteelCityMan786
06-02-2010, 10:23 PM
Sad to see a great player retire. He belongs in the hall.

Shea
06-02-2010, 10:37 PM
Junior has always been a cool guy, and a great player.

Unfortunately, father time came knockin' on his door.

Hindes204
06-02-2010, 10:47 PM
One of my favorite players ever...I still remember when I was a kid and I spent almost a year trying to get my hands on his upper deck rookie card, which I finally got (and lost a few years later). Of course, I think everyone wanted that card.

Sad to see him go, but it's his time. I wish he wouldn't have been plagued by injuries, he could of been the greatest of all time

tony hipchest
06-02-2010, 11:08 PM
i cant believe its been 22 years already. him, a-rod, and the big unit were fun to watch (especially in '95 i think it was, when they spanked the yanks).

my 1st and only time to PNC park a few years ago i had tickets and was gonna see him and the reds. centerfield, right next to the PIRATES shrubs, 3 rows up. i was gonna heckle him AND catch a HR ball.

unfortunately it got rained out before a pitch was thrown. :doh:

SteelersinCA
06-02-2010, 11:44 PM
Junior and Mario got the shaft.

steelerdude15
06-02-2010, 11:53 PM
That's along time to play, but a great player indeed. Future HOF no doubt.

kmsteelerwr15
06-03-2010, 01:08 AM
And another thing that I love about Griffey is that he wasn't associated with steroids. The timing of his injuries were when steroids were really booming and he easily could have turned to them but to my knowledge he did not and he kept his game pure.

Craic
06-03-2010, 01:57 AM
People who don't (or didn't, actually) live in the NorthWest in the early and mid 90's really have no comprehension of the importance of Griffey and Edgar Martinez to the Mariners.

Everyone knows that the Mariners were the laughing stock of the league. The kingdom was NEVER full, not even close. I went to a baseball game in the early 80's, and there were less than 3000 people there. When Griffey Jr. came up and played, all the news organizations talked about him, and the Mariners were actually talked about off and on. Then, as he was going for the homerun title in 1994, before the strike, the Mariners were once again starting to be discussed in the NW. ONly on TV though. No one else really cared. Then the strike came, and the team was actually destined to leave Seattle. The Kingdom was starting to fall apart. There was no care nor money for the team.

Enter, Ken Griffey, Edgar Martinez and 1995. During the first part of the year, players were literally looking at homes and apartments in Tampa Bay. In August, they were about 13 games out of first place, but the wildcard race was still there... thougha long shot. No one cared about them again. However, something amazing happened. Griffey, who was injured early in the year (on an amazing backhanded catch crashing into the wall) re-entered the line up. THe team starting stringing together wins. 13 became 11, 11 became 9, 9 became 5. All of a sudden, Griffey, Martinez and the Mariners were making a run for first place. During this time, A King County vote in early September was narrowly defeated, ending any chance of building a new stadium and assuring the loss of the Mariners. However, the news organizations starting picking up on the exciting games. The Mariners all of a sudden were being broadcasted in Seattle, Portland, Spokane, and all over the NW. You couldn't go to the store, the garage, turn on the radio, without hearing about the Seattle Mariners. They took over 1st place, lost a couple games, and had to play a playoff game, which Randy Johnson pitched.

Then, the real magic happened. Ken Griffey was still suffering from the wrist injury, he was batting .258, with 10 home runs over the last month and a few days. The hated Yankees were coming to town (and yeah, they were hated, there were a few games that the Yankees and Mariners cleared the benches). Griffey is rumored as saying, "Its time to put the team on my back and carry them through." (or something very much like that). Of course, the Yankees go up by 2 games. However, the Mariners battle back to bring it to a last game 5, and a moment that makes Griffey and Martinez the posterboys of baseball in Seattle to this day. It is the play that saved baseball in Seattle.

The Mariners are down by a run in the 11th inning. Joey Cora is on 3d base, Griffey is on 2B. Jack McDowell is pitching to Edgar Martinez. Martinez, puts a shot down into left field. Griffey Jr. Gets on his high horse and MOVES down to third base (you all have to remember this is the kingdom, where the ball moves VERY fast on what was basically cement with outdoor carpet on top). Joey Cora touches home... score is 5-5. Griffey gets the wave at third and turns for home. The place goes nuts.... the ball hits the cut off man who turns and throws. Griffey comes in hard--beats out the throw (at this point, its not even close), and scores the winning run, bottom of the 11th inning, final game of the series. He finished the series with 5 homeruns, went 9-23 with a .391 average and 9 runs hit in. He had a 1.043 sl average and an OPS of 1.488. (Martinez had some GAUDY numbers, but this ain't his thread!).

Sadly, they lost the next series, and did not win the pennant. However, what Griffey and Martinez, and the rest of the team was enough. The Washington State Legislature got involved, put together a revenue package, and saved the Mariners. ALL, because of the excitement that had crescendo-ed with Martinez driving home Griffey.

That series, and literally, that play, is credited with saving baseball in Seattle. But in reality, it was the excitement an 18 year old kid brought in, playing baseball next to his father in the outfield, and hitting a homerun on his very first at bat in the Kingdom. It was that excitement that allowed the Mariners to build a very good team, instead of always bringing in hasbeens and wannabes.

For all of that, Griffey is treated like a king in Seattle, and the entire Northwest.

Carolina Steelers
06-03-2010, 09:26 AM
Ken Griffery Jr. was the best all-around player ive ever seen im 37 Being a Padres fan Tony Gwynn was my favorite but Jr. was 2nd. It was sad to watch him play these past couple of yrs because of injuries father time caught up with him he wasnt like the other players as that got older they got better (Steroids) he played the game the way is was meant to be played. He shouldnt even have to wait 5 yrs. Put him in HOF now. Hes going to be missed.

Godfather
06-06-2010, 10:45 AM
And another thing that I love about Griffey is that he wasn't associated with steroids. The timing of his injuries were when steroids were really booming and he easily could have turned to them but to my knowledge he did not and he kept his game pure.

I agree. It's a shame it was Barroid and not Junior who broke Aaron's record.

venom
06-07-2010, 03:07 PM
I still remember the hit by Edgar Martinez to drive in Griffey for the winning run against the Yankees in the 1995 playoffs in Seattle to win the series . That sucked bigtime being a life long Yankee fan . See you in the Hall of Fame Jr !!!!!