Ken Griffey Jr. Retires

[Mitch Henessey]

SEATTLE -- Ken Griffey Jr. retired Wednesday night, ending one of the great careers in baseball history.

The 40-year-old Griffey told Seattle team president Chuck Armstrong that 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.

Griffey was not in the clubhouse before Wednesday night's game against Minnesota. The team said he would not be at Safeco Field.


Living Legend
Mariners great Ken Griffey Jr. retired on Wednesday at the age of 40. He finishes his career with 630 homers, fifth on the all-time list. Here's a look:

Player Homers
Barry Bonds 762
Hank Aaron 755
Babe Ruth 714
Willie Mays 660
Ken Griffey Jr. 630
Sammy Sosa 609

"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 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.

Griffey was a 13-time All-Star outfielder and ranks fifth on the career 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 lifetime with 1,836 RBIs.

A year after making his big league debut, Griffey enjoyed one of his greatest highlights. Playing with his All-Star dad, Ken Griffey Jr., 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.

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.

Griffey played in 1,685 games with Seattle and hit .292 with 417 of his homers, most coming in the homer-friendly Kingdome, and 1,216 RBIs.

Once he left Seattle, injuries began to take their toll and his production started to decline.

Colorado manager Jim Tracy and others were surprised as the news of Griffey's decision began to make its way around baseball.

"Did he really? Wow," Tracy said before facing the San Francisco Giants.

Griffey JR. was one hell of a baseball player, but it's to bad Griffey had to suffer through all of those injuries. Griffey's time in Cincinnati will surely be something he will want to forget, and his brief tenure with the Chicago White Sox wasn't memorable either. At least Griffey JR. was able to go out with the team he started with because not every athlete gets the chance to do it.

Griffey Jr. is 5th on the all-time home run list, and he was having an amazing career up until his time in Cincinnati, so should he be a lock for the Hall Of Fame? Should his time in Cincinnati be held against him? I think he should be a lock for the HOF, and I don't think his time in Cincinnati should be held against him. Griffey Jr. has a very impressive list of achievements, and he is 5th on the all-time home run list, so I definitely think he should get in.

What are your thoughts about Griffey's retirement and career?

 

[The Brain]

Ken Griffey Jr. is unquestionably a first ballot hall of famer. He would have been a lock for the hall if he retired ten years ago and never went to Cincinnati. There is no doubt in my mind that he would be the home run king if not for his injuries. He is fifth in home runs and 14th in RBI despite being injured throughout much of his 30s. Junior was THE man in the 90s. He absolutely dominated that decade. A 13 time all star with ten gold gloves over 600 home runs and over 1800 RBI is as close to a sure thing hall of famer there is. It’s amazing that he somehow has only one MVP. If not for the injuries I believe he would have been the greatest of all time. Many believe he is the reason there is still baseball in Seattle. It will be a fun day in July 2016 when Junior becomes the first Mariner to go in the hall of fame.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

I'm going to try to put into words about how great Jr. was, but I'm afraid I couldn't do this great man justice, so I will just let everyone know how I feel about this amazing player.


Ken Griffey Jr. is a first ballot hall of famer and one of the greatest players of all time. Had it not been for injuries I have no doubt that he would have gone down as 1 or 2 in the greatest of all time debate. Griffey was a class act, in an era clouded with controversy and drugs, never once having his name be associated with them, imagine if he had taken them to get healthy quicker, he would have had the greatest numbers but instead he went the clean route and gets the utmost respect from everyone for it. The guy was great at the plate, great in the field, and even better off of it.

Ken Griffey Jr. will always be my favorite player to never play for St. Louis and looking back he might just be my favorite all time. Today is a sad day in baseball and the end of an era.

Thank you Jr. for all the memories.

 

[BooCocky]

I was never a fan of Griffey Jr, he was a good ball player. Too bad the years of abusing steroids caught up to him. And Im sorry but I have to say this, he quit on his team this year, gave them some faith and left in the middle of a season. At this stage in his career, he was a coward and a quitter. He wanted to retire at the end of last season, but he wanted one more joyous run, couldn't get it, then walked away at the lowest point in his career. He quit on the young Mariners, he should be ashamed of himself. He was greedy and at the end of his career he played the game for his benefit. Yes, he will be a HOF'er but he should be ashamed of himself for going out like this. He also never one a damn thing, I'm going to remember him for walking away like a loser, not the solid power hitter that he was.

 

[Big Sexy]

I was never a fan of Griffey Jr, he was a good ball player.

He wasn't good. He was one of the best to ever play the game.

Too bad the years of abusing steroids caught up to him

Are you fucking serious? We talking about the same guy? Griffey is the one player from that era that it's obvious to tell didn't use steroids. Hes never been accused by anyone, remained the same size throughout his career, and never tested positive for anything. He wasn't some guy who all the sudden started hitting a ton of home runs or who randomly bulked up one year.

And Im sorry but I have to say this, he quit on his team this year, gave them some faith and left in the middle of a season. At this stage in his career, he was a coward and a quitter. He wanted to retire at the end of last season, but he wanted one more joyous run, couldn't get it, then walked away at the lowest point in his career. He quit on the young Mariners, he should be ashamed of himself. He was greedy and at the end of his career he played the game for his benefit.

What the fuck are you babbling on about? This is a man who saved the Mariners franchise from complete obscurity when he came into the league. He retired because he isn't contributing and doesn't want to become a distraction. He's retiring for the better of the team. The complete opposite of what you are wrongfully accusing him of.

Yes, he will be a HOF'er but he should be ashamed of himself for going out like this.

You mean going out like a true professional? Not hanging on with a team and taking at bats away from other guys who can contribute more then him? He realizes it just isn't there anymore and rather then continuing to hurt the team with poor play he is helping them by moving on.

He also never one a damn thing

He turned an abysmal Mariner franchise around and made them respectable. Seattle had never had a winning season in their franchises history and in his third year Griffey led them to a winning record. One player can't win a World Series. And who knows what would have happened had he been able to stay healthy in Cincinnati.

I'm going to remember him for walking away like a loser, not the solid power hitter that he was.

Congratulations on completely disrespecting one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. Griffey is a class act and a first ballot hall of famer.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

I was never a fan of Griffey Jr, he was a good ball player.

I'll respect your opinion on not liking him, that's fair. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But just like Sexy said, he wasn't a good baseball player, he was one of the best ever.

Too bad the years of abusing steroids caught up to him.

What years? Last I checked steriods helped you get healthy faster. The only real knock on Jr. is he was had a problem staying healthy.

And Im sorry but I have to say this, he quit on his team this year, gave them some faith and left in the middle of a season. At this stage in his career, he was a coward and a quitter.

He didn't quit, he never played. He was getting older, 40 to be exact. Not many players are too great when they are 40, less are good enough to "put faith in a team".

He wanted to retire at the end of last season, but he wanted one more joyous run, couldn't get it, then walked away at the lowest point in his career.

I think he deserved to have the right to want to go out with the Mariners and retire when he wants to. He made the franchise, if not for Griffey I doubt they would still be in Seattle. The Mariners were last in the division and he wasn't contributing much anyway. The only times I heard about the Mariners on ESPN was things to do with Jr., He didn't want to be a distraction so he retired. It's not like if he had stayed they would magically go on a tear and win the division. I don't know, but don't most players retire when they can't play anymore? He couldn't play so he retired. Would you rather him stick around not contributing shit just padding stats like Rice and Smith did in the NFL?

He quit on the young Mariners, he should be ashamed of himself. He was greedy and at the end of his career he played the game for his benefit. Yes, he will be a HOF'er but he should be ashamed of himself for going out like this. He also never one a damn thing, I'm going to remember him for walking away like a loser, not the solid power hitter that he was.

He didn't quit on them, he retired because he couldn't contribute. But how was he being greedy? His contract was just over 2 million. You also want to talk about him not winning a World Series? The guy basically made the Mariners and got them to the post season, again like Sexy said one player doesn't make a team.

 

[Mustang Sally]

"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.

In regards to his playing career, I feel the same as most everyone here; he probably would have been one of the greatest had the damn injuries not robbed him of so much of his prime.

At the same time, he hung on too long and I wonder about the truth of the above quote. I have my doubts he quit because he was hurting the team. Rather, I have the feeling management came to him and told him he was hitting barely .200 and was going to be sent to the bench. Or, maybe they even told him they would be releasing him outright....and giving him the chance to resign instead of being cut.

I was turned off when he left Seattle to go to Cincinnati, claiming he was making an "agonizing decision." That was pure bullcrap because he and his agent had made the decision to leave Seattle a long time before.....and everyone knew it. Seattle wasn't going to have the money to re-sign Griffey and that was the basis for his decision, as I remember it. Even with the hometown discount he gave the Reds, it was still more than Seattle could afford to pay him. Otherwise, why would he have left the Mariners, a team for which he had his greatest years and who treated him like a favorite son?

If things did play out the way I'm suggesting, I think Seattle was wise to give him the option of bowing out gracefully, and I think Griffey was wise to take it.

Everyone saves face.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Griffey was a great centerfielder in the 90's but I've always felt he didn't have what it took to win a World Series. I didn't see the passion, desire, or intangibles. He had Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez on the same team and yet they never went to the World Series. Johnson and Rodriguez went on to other teams and won championships. Griffey was built for the regular season but he couldn't get it done when it mattered.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Griffey was built for the regular season but he couldn't get it done when it mattered.

I can kinda agree with this only because he has been to the postseason three times in his career 95,97 with Seattle and 08 with Chicago W.Sox and out of the three he only performed in one which was 95 when he hit .364 with 6 HR's and 9 RBI's in 11 games. The other two years in 7 games combined he only had 4 hits and 2 RBI's and an avg. of like .166.


I will miss him though as he was one of my favorite players to watch and was pissed for a few days when he didn't sign with the Braves last year, but understand why he went back to Seattle. I have to agree that he is a first ballot hall of famer, his numbers speak for themselves in getting him to the HOF and has the gold golves to further that. The biggest thing that sucks for him is the big WHAT IF he didn't have the injury years, theres no doubt he would've been in the 700 HR club and been retiring the all time HR leader. One of the thing's I'll miss most about him is that swing and follow through. I remember trying to imitate it when I was younger. It has to be one of the prettiest swings of all time. I for one don't but the steriod talk with him at all. There has been no indications that he has taken them, he never changed weight like some of the other users, the only time his weight changed was the past couple years where he just got a little fatter not build muscle, pretty much like Chipper Jones. I'm also happy to say I was able to witness Griffey hit one of his 630 HR's in person back in 99. Hats off to "The Kid" on a great storied career.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

I was never a fan of Griffey Jr, he was a good ball player.

Don't have to been a fan, but to say he was just a good ball player is asinine. His achievements alone tell the story of him being one of best to ever play the game. He one of the greats period, he's more than good.

Too bad the years of abusing steroids caught up to him.

Prove it jackass, find me one story of him ever being accused or failing one drug test. You're just spouting off your usual crap to be different from the rest of us who see what a truly great player he is. You can't find much else to say so you go with the standard steriod abuse. Pathetic man.

And Im sorry but I have to say this, he quit on his team this year, gave them some faith and left in the middle of a season. At this stage in his career, he was a coward and a quitter. He wanted to retire at the end of last season, but he wanted one more joyous run, couldn't get it, then walked away at the lowest point in his career. He quit on the young Mariners, he should be ashamed of himself. He was greedy and at the end of his career he played the game for his benefit.

You're not sorry, or you wouldn't have said it, but it was stupid as is this whole section of your post, it's pure and udder crap. He didn't quit on his team, and he is not a coward. A coward is someone who is unwilling to step aside when they are playing like shit and let someone else who is doing better play. His batting average was atrocious, so how is benching himself to let better hitters this season play, cowardly? So he's a quitter because he knew he was swinging like crap and let someone else step in? Greedy huh? How? He played the game because he loved it, he wanted to end his career where it started, he wanted to try and help the Mariners one more time, how is that greedy? That is beyond respectable and selfless to me. Consider this, how happy where the Mariners and the fans to see him back in Seattle, knowing this was likely his last season? We were ecstatic to have him back, and so was the team. He didn't play for his benefit really, he played for the team, for the fans and for the game, which he feels he just can't do anymore. Greedy my ass.

Yes, he will be a HOF'er but he should be ashamed of himself for going out like this. He also never one a damn thing, I'm going to remember him for walking away like a loser, not the solid power hitter that he was.

And you're an ass, plain and simple. He will be a Hall Of Famer and rightfully so, and he shouldn't not be ashamed of himself, he should hold his head high for an absolutely amazing career, and for retiring at the right time.

 

[BooCocky]

Griffeys entire body deteriorated. How isn't that some proof? A little tear injured Griffey. Abusing steroids hurt his body. Griffeys biggest clain to fame was scoring a run in 1995. What else has he done? He played with A-Roid, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, and had Randy Johnson as an ace.

Griffey retiring at the right time should have been a few years ago in Cinci. But he kept on playing, kept under-performing, collecting a paycheck and having nothing to show for it.

You can talk about saving the Mariners all you want but that was fifteen years ago. At the end he snaked em for a few million. And when he was at the peak of his career, do you know what he did? He went elsewhere. Shows you how much Griffey truly loved Seattle. He went for greener pasture, even though he went to Cinci which is probably the biggest mistake any big name player has ever made. His career and legacy faded, sort of like the way his bones faded at the end of his career...If you truly believe he wasn't on steroids like the power hitters he played with, you're delusional.

 

[Big Sexy]

Griffeys entire body deteriorated. How isn't that some proof? A little tear injured Griffey. Abusing steroids hurt his body. Griffeys biggest clain to fame was scoring a run in 1995. What else has he done? He played with A-Roid, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, and had Randy Johnson as an ace.

So you're telling me every pro athlete that has ever had a lot of injuries in his career was on steroids? Terrell Davis, Javon Walker, Sam Bowie, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Carl Pavano, and Carlos Quentin all took steroids? Griffey's injuries are because of the fact that he admittedly never stretched before games, didn't take care of his body in the offseason, and always played recklessly in the outfield.

Griffey retiring at the right time should have been a few years ago in Cinci. But he kept on playing, kept under-performing, collecting a paycheck and having nothing to show for it.

So a guy who loves the game of baseball and still thinks he has some left shouldn't go out and give it a go? He realizes now he just doesn't have it anymore so he retired. You can't fault a guy for trying to continue.

You can talk about saving the Mariners all you want but that was fifteen years ago. At the end he snaked em for a few million. And when he was at the peak of his career, do you know what he did? He went elsewhere.

He requested a trade to Cincinnati so he could be closer to his family and all of his relatives and so he could raise his kids where he grew up. He would not have gone anywhere else but Cincinnati. The Mariners wouldn't have been able to afford him anyways and at least this way they got something in return for him.

Shows you how much Griffey truly loved Seattle. He went for greener pasture, even though he went to Cinci which is probably the biggest mistake any big name player has ever made. His career and legacy faded, sort of like the way his bones faded at the end of his career...

So because he wanted to be closer to family he made a big mistake? The same injuries most likely would have happened in Seattle because of reasons I already explained. If Seattle really thought Griffey "snaked" them then why did they welcome him back with open arms and why did the fans give him huge ovations?

If you truly believe he wasn't on steroids like the power hitters he played with, you're delusional.

If you truly believe any of the bullshit you're spewing is fact then you are the delusional one homie.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Griffeys entire body deteriorated. How isn't that some proof? A little tear injured Griffey. Abusing steroids hurt his body. Griffeys biggest clain to fame was scoring a run in 1995. What else has he done? He played with A-Roid, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, and had Randy Johnson as an ace.

I know you're responding to Fox about it but I'm sorry Becker I think you're wrong here. Steriods main function is to build muscle, building muscle helps you heal faster. If Griffey would have taken steriods he wouldn't have been hurt all the time.

Also Griffey's claim to fame is being one of the greatest baseball players of all time not one run.

Griffey retiring at the right time should have been a few years ago in Cinci. But he kept on playing, kept under-performing, collecting a paycheck and having nothing to show for it.

He probably should have but teams still wanted him so can you really blame a guy for wanting to do what he loves? Sure his stats dropped near the end of his career but everyone's stats do the same thing. It's part of getting older. Yes his avrage dipped quite a bit towards the end but he ws still producing runs. In 2009 he hit 19 homeruns and had 57 RBI.

You can talk about saving the Mariners all you want but that was fifteen years ago. At the end he snaked em for a few million. And when he was at the peak of his career, do you know what he did? He went elsewhere. Shows you how much Griffey truly loved Seattle. He went for greener pasture, even though he went to Cinci which is probably the biggest mistake any big name player has ever made. His career and legacy faded, sort of like the way his bones faded at the end of his career...If you truly believe he wasn't on steroids like the power hitters he played with, you're delusional.

Well we are talking about Griffey's entire career here so I'd say saving a franchise during his tenor counts for something. As for him leaving at the peak of his career he went home, he went to the Cincinnati Reds his home team to try to lead them back to the promise land, he just couldn't do it by himself, it's not like he went to the Yankees to get the max contract.


I must be delusional.