Griffey to the M's
by mistersite on Feb 18, 2009 10:30 PM CST
37 comments
"He’s coming home. … I can’t begin to tell you how ecstatic we are. He is, too," Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said in confirming the deal Wednesday night. Zduriencik called Griffey "arguably one of the greatest athletes to ever play in the Seattle area." The 39-year-old star’s contract is for one year and believed to be worth $2 million in base salary, plus incentives. "Ken is extremely excited to be coming back to Seattle," Zduriencik said.Honestly, it's nice to see this first-ballot Hall of Famer returning to his old stomping grounds in Seattle. Especially when it's coming out that guys like A-Rod have been on the juice, it's gratifying to see that one guy who I've never seen the rumors touch is going to be (probably) finishing his career where he started. The guy is a pure class act. I'm happy that Griffey and his sweet swing (seriously, that swing is a work of art) are going to get one last go around the league for a long goodbye...
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
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Yuck
I greatly admire Ken Griffey Jr and his major league accomplishments, but if anybody was paying attention during his tenure with the White Sox the man is through. Stick a fork in him. Griffey back to a bad Mariner club shapes up to be about as successful as Willie Mays spending his final days with a bad Met club.
Mays actually did contribute to the Mets, helping them to a World Series.
Granted, them being there was a fluke.
Griffey’s nearly done — BUT, I do think that playing for the Mariners, where they can stash him at DH and not have to worry about his virtually-gone fielding ability, might let him fire one last salvo before retiring.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
I think
it’s more accurate to say that the Mets won the pennant in 1973 in spite of having Willie Mays on the team, not because of it. He did have a big pinch hit in Game Five of the NLCS, so I guess he did contribute something. But it sure wasn’t his .211 batting average and six home runs that season.
Wow. I didn’t realize that Mays was pretty mediocre throughout his career in post-season baseball. Good thing he retired before ESPN or we’d never hear the end of it.
Griffey isn’t much of a player anymore, but he’s sure as heck a better (and younger) player than Willie Mays was when he went to the Mets. Mays was 41 when he was traded to the Mets in 1972. Griffey turns 39 next season. In 1970 at age 39, Mays had a great season for the Giants: .291 with 28 HRs in 136 games. For playing in Candlestick Park in 1970, that’s practically an MVP season (except of course for that guy who had 39 HRs playing first base for the Giants.)
Bad Met team???
If I’m not mistaken, the Mets won the World Series in 1973……and I believe Willie was part of that team.
"This is a game to be savored, not gulped. There's time to discuss everything between pitches or between innings." -- Bill Veeck
I forgot about 1973
But Willie was a fat bloated old man at that stage.
This isn't about getting better
But putting butts in seats and getting the fan base energized and willing to come out to the ballpark. Griffey going back to his old team, a team that he loved playing for, to me anyway is a good thing. He’s a class act of baseball, been nothing but the best that he could be for whatever team he’s played for. This will probably be his last go around, and gie him a chance to say goodbye to his fans and the game in a classy way.
Yeah. The M's aren't even pretending...
…that they’re a playoff-caliber team. This is about selling some tickets, getting people excited, and giving Griffey a farewell tour. As far as I’m concerned, he’s earned it.
They shouldn't pretend
to be an playoff-caliber team. It was pretending that they were a playoff caliber team that caused them to do stupid stuff like trading for Eric Bedard.
In their defense...
they were very close in ‘07 to making the playoffs. A couple more pieces and they would have been in…so they had every right to make a push for the “win now” with someone like Bedard. It’s not like they could predict his arm would practically fall off last year…
"Why do you always point to the sky when Zambrano starts?" My girlfriend.
"You just wouldn't get it...it's a Cubs thing..." Me.
by cubs2k8isnxtyear on Feb 19, 2009 5:27 AM CST up reply actions
Except that
any objective analysis of the 2007 Mariners season would have come to the conclusion that it was a fluke. Their Pythagorean Record was 79-83.
Just Remember
Jim Edmonds. Sometimes those signings work out. While i do beleive he is over the hill, it would not suprise me at all if he hits 25 taters and drives in 90+
"The more i practice, the luckier i seem to get" -Yogi Berra
by ChiCubsFever on Feb 19, 2009 12:28 AM CST up reply actions
I along
With many others would be astounded if he even came close to the numbers you threw out. I’ll bet by all star break he hangs ’em up. This sort of move has been done by many teams over the years. Bringing back the shell of what was once a great player in hopes that being “home” will magically instill the return of ones earlier accomplishments.
"You can't take life to seriously, you don't get out of it alive"
I disagree, because...
… he can be stashed at DH. He really can’t play the field any more, but if he can concentrate solely on hitting, he might put up one more solid year.
Look at Stan Musial’s 1962 season — when he was 41 — for an example of what might happen for Griffey.
Curiously, Musial and Griffey were both born in Donora, Pennsylvania.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Al.
with all do respect, I can not agree with the comparsion of Griffey to Musial. I (gulp) did watch some of the Sox games last year. I must say that Griffey not only can no longer field, but can not longer handle the bat.
His bat speed is slow, no longer can he judge the change up with a fastball like he was able to do in the PAST. I, like most admire a young man like Ken Griffey Jr. So I do not want to come off as a basher of him in anyway. But I realize as I would have hoped Griffey would have realized, his career is over.
As for the comparsion of Musial to Griffey. Honestly, I am hard pressed to put Griffey in Musial’s league. I am a firm believer that in earlier times the level of play was at a much higher caliber than what we are witnessing now. Yes Griffey has provided outstanding numbers. But in the overall spectrum of this game, I think they pale a tad to Musial’s
"You can't take life to seriously, you don't get out of it alive"
Epilouge
As a fan of the game, it would be wonderful for a player of Griffey’s talents to end his career on the upside. And I hope that I am wrong. As always, time will tell.
"You can't take life to seriously, you don't get out of it alive"
The comparison was made...
… because Musial had several seasons of decline before suddenly putting up that good year in 1962. Granted that Musial didn’t have the injuries that Griffey has had, which contribute to Griffey’s inability to field any more.
I think DH’ing will take a lot of pressure off of him and he can put up one final decent season.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
I don't get why
all the “yucks” and “hes terrible, hes done”…who cares? the man is a class act. in the 20 or so years this guy played never once have u heard griffey and steroids mentioned in the same sentence. he did things the right way. went out there, gave everything he had, with no concern of possible injuries. hes goin on one final farewell tour and thats classy for him to go to seattle to say bye to those fans when he could have just as easily signed with a better braves team. im going to miss that sweet left handed swing and strut out of the box. enjoy it, because this guy was one special baseball player.
As far as I'm concerned,
Ken Griffey Jr. was the greatest player of this generation. Statistical-wise, maybe not, but the way he played the game and the way he carried himself speak volumes about who he is as a person. That being said, Junior has the sweetest swing I’ve ever seen and I’ll never forget watching him hit tape measure shots for those first 8 years in Seattle. Imagine if he hadn’t been so injury-plagued in Cincinnati, we’d have ourselves a real homerun champion…one who isn’t tainted.
When you combine his on-field talent and production with the way he carried himself off the field and always was a true ambassador of the game, Ken Griffey Jr. has to be the greatest BASEBALL PLAYER of this generation.
"Why do you always point to the sky when Zambrano starts?" My girlfriend.
"You just wouldn't get it...it's a Cubs thing..." Me.
by cubs2k8isnxtyear on Feb 19, 2009 5:31 AM CST reply actions
No argument
The two greatest hitters of this past baseball generation are in my opinion Ken Griffey and Frank Thomas. I’m going to exclude the steroid clowns from the argument, hence no inclusion of A-Rod and some others. I’m also going to exclude Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols because I view them in the current generation and beyond the time of Griffey and Thomas. I know there are other names that can enter the debate, but to me Griffey and Thomas were ungodly good.
Greatest POSITION PLAYER
I agree. I love him because he was just mentally incapable of NOT running into a wall or diving etc. He plays 110% in EVERY GAME.
If he wants to keep playing let him enjoy himself.
"I daydream just like everybody else, I just do it with my body facing the field, so everybody thinks I'm paying attention."- Greg Maddux
by Doggie Stalker on Feb 19, 2009 10:57 AM CST up reply actions
Griffey
I remember when he first came out and was wearing his hat backwards and all that. He was considered the scourge of baseball ethics and purity.
Now he’s a class guy.
I love it.
I’ve always been a Griffey fan. The idiot purists back in 1990 meant nothing to me, just as today’s idiot purists mean nothing.
But he’s not the greatest baseball player of this generation. Bonds had far surpassed him even before Bonds knew what steroids were.
There is no such thing as an ugly female breast
by Worf on Feb 19, 2009 6:55 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
The Real Griffey
All you people saying he carried himself so well, was a class act, etc…what are you basing that on? I know a guy that has been an M’s beat reporter (would not like me outing him, so he’ll remain anonymous) for years, and was there for Griffey’s entire tenure with the M’s. The stories he told me about Griffey’s arrogance and mistreatment of fans as well as his attitude around teammates were numerous.
One example:
One of the teams clubhouse guys, not sure if he was a trainer, towel guy, whatever, knew a couple of terminaly ill children at a Seattle hospital. Griffey was their hero. This guy one day asked Griffey if he would sign a few items for the kids. He grudgingly said yes. So the guy tells the kids that’s gonna happen, and they’re absolutely thrilled. The families go out and buy some Griffey jerseys to have signed, and the clubhouse guy takes the stuff to Griffey the next day to sign, and he says he’ll sign them…for $100 a piece.
That’s right…class act all the way. Bare in mind, this was in the mid-90’s, so he wasn’t exactly a rookie when this happened.
I guess he’s perceived to be a good guy, but the reality may be different. He also forced the Mariners to trade him to Cincinatti, without getting a ton in return. Personally I think his injury-plagued time in Cincinatti was karma biting him in the ass.
I have nothing funny or creative to write.
by Canadian Cubs Fan on Feb 19, 2009 6:55 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Boy based on your post
I think I like this guy better.
"Ask Dad. He'll know. And on the off chance he doesn't, he'll make something up"
Maybe he's mellowed with age?
"You've got to earn winning your division. We won more games than anybody in the National League last year, and we're going to have a target on our back, so we've got to be ready.'' - Lou Piniella, 2/17/09
by dat cubfan daver on Feb 19, 2009 10:54 AM CST up reply actions
Possibly...
I think that’s the case with most guys…they sort it out sooner or later, and realize what’s important. I’ve always wondered about guys like him & Bonds, who grew up in clubhouses their dads played in. I wonder if that spoiled them a little, and created kind of a culture of entitlement. That’s just a guess.
They still love him in Seattle. I was there when he played his first game back at Safeco with Cinci, and they cheered him like crazy.
I have nothing funny or creative to write.
by Canadian Cubs Fan on Feb 19, 2009 2:40 PM CST up reply actions
An ex-GF of mine is next-door neighbors to the M's trainer...
So she used to tell me what he’d say about the players (she’s a big M’s fan). Anyway, he never said anything negative about Griffey as far as I heard, but I guess that’s not dispositive.
by CubsWin!Oregon on Feb 20, 2009 1:27 PM CST up reply actions
I'm glad he's taking this route...
…instead of trying to force himself into the Braves’ outfield. I hope he excels as a DH and can retire happily following a decent season.
"You've got to earn winning your division. We won more games than anybody in the National League last year, and we're going to have a target on our back, so we've got to be ready.'' - Lou Piniella, 2/17/09
by dat cubfan daver on Feb 19, 2009 10:46 AM CST reply actions
No doubt.
Griffey seems like a decent guy and was a fantastic player. Sadly, over the last six years or so, he has become the baseball equivalent of Grant Hill…you just sit there waiting for the inevitable season-ending injury. The DH will definitely be his friend.
"I've got an idea...an idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about." ~Peter Griffin
Can we make a rule?
Any non-Cubs related story should be banished to fanshots?
"Pounding sand since 1982...."
Can we make a rule
That the next person who bitches about a post placement be beaten severely with a tire iron?
There is no such thing as an ugly female breast
Can we make a rule
… that violence not be threatened, even in jest?
This is a Cubs blog, but it is also a baseball blog. I have no particular objection to a post like this being in the FanPosts.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Sorry
I was trying to be my usual bitterly funny and creative self. Didn’t work this time because I wasn’t feeling funny. I was just angry that someone, 30 posts in, whines about the placement again.
Al, everytime someone does this, you inevitably come down and make a ruling and it seems like 75-80 percent of the time, you’re saying, “It’s fine.”
Perhaps a general disclaimer on your part, essentially setting down the guidelines and telling the rent-a-forum-cops to lighten up would be in order.
For my part, I’ll say that the main objection seems to be posts like these “push down” other posts. Listen, no one out here, including me, writes Shakespeare. Your random neural firings aren’t that damn important that they have to be bronzed for posterity, people.
Get over it.
There is no such thing as an ugly female breast
Technically, this post should have been...
…branded with an “OT:” before the title. Otherwise, I don’t have a huge problem with it – at least not in late February.
"You've got to earn winning your division. We won more games than anybody in the National League last year, and we're going to have a target on our back, so we've got to be ready.'' - Lou Piniella, 2/17/09
by dat cubfan daver on Feb 20, 2009 11:23 AM CST up reply actions
Rec'd
If you consider yourself a true fan of baseball, which many on here do, then although you may root for the cubs, you can appreciate the efforts and accomplishments of other players, especially some of the greats of the game. I think Griffey will go down with Chipper Jones as two guys who you just have to scratch your head and wonder how good they possibly could have been had the injury bug just left them alone. Good for Griffey. Go back to the place you started, where your loved and respected, and have a fine year, stats be damned.
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