Ken Griffey Jr, the greatest and purest power hitter of our generation, retired yesterday. Griffey retires with 630 home runs, 5th behind 3 legends (Aaron, Ruth, Mays) and 1 cheater (B***y B***s). Of all the players who invaded the 500 homer club the last 20 years, only he and Frank Thomas are considered clean from steroids. And his his acrobatic plays in center were a daily highlight. But his more lasting legacy will be saving baseball in Seattle. In the early '90's, the Mariners had never had a winning season, let alone a playoff appearance, and there was alot of talk of them moving to Tampa or Washington DC. Griffey led the charge in 1995 to an AL West title and a ALDS victory over the Yankees, and soon talk began on a new stadium in Seattle.
Griffey looked like the soon-to-be all time home run king as late as 2001-02, but injuries slowed him considerably. Still, I am glad to say I saw him play and saw one of his home runs with Cincinnati. And I would consider him a top-10 all time hitter. And one final note- how old am I that a legend of 23 years played his entire career in my adult lifetime? Sigh..
