Happy Trails KGJ

Last Wednesday night when Ken Griffey Jr. retired, the baseball world unanimously agreed that it was sending off one of the game’s all time greats. For someone like me who grew up in the 1990s, Ken Griffey Jr. won’t just be remembered as one of baseball’s all-time greats, he will be remembered as a player who’s combination of ability and personality will leave him untouched as the greatest and most influential baseball player I will ever watch.


As a kid in the 1990s, Griffey was the obvious choice as a favorite player. It wasn’t because he was the best player in baseball (which he was), it was because he had so much fun playing baseball, and that’s why he was so easy to relate to. As focused on winning as Junior was, he exuded a love for the game that appears to be missing in most dominant athletes. When you think of superstars like Kobe Bryant, Alexander Ovechkin and Tiger Woods, these athletes convey first and foremost a love of competition and winning. Griffey, every bit as talented as the above mentioned, will be remembered for having fun: No one can forget the gigantic smile on Junior’s face when scored the winning run in the 1995 ALDS or his ear to ear grins when robbing some flabbergasted hitter of a home run. Griffey’s disassociation with the “win at all costs mentality” (coupled with his lack of interest in working out) can no doubt be one of the reasons he has left baseball as one of the only players of his era, entirely removed suspicion of performance enhancing drug use.


Not only did Griffey embody the child-like virtue of having fun, he also never lost the young person’s propensity to play the game hard. There was no wall KG wasn’t willing to crash into, and no ball he wasn’t willing to lay out for. This is what made him so exciting to watch. Sure Barry Bonds was raking, but when did he rob anyone of a home run? While Griffey’s willingness to slide, dive, or crash into anything may have lead to a few more injuries, (the catch that broke his wrist in 1995 is still one of the greatest ever) it also led to the highlight reel plays that made him so thrilling to watch.


What is not to be lost in celebrating Junior’s love for the game, was just how talented a player he was. Given the rash of injuries he suffered throughout his time in Cincinnati, last Wednesday’s announcement sparked many baseball commentators to ask “what could have been?” if Griff had stayed healthy. “What could have been?” is something that you ask high school football players, draft day phenoms, and the writers of Lost. This is not a question that should be asked in relation to Ken Griffey Jr., because of what he did do. He finished his career as the dominant all around player of his generation, one of the greatest home run hitters (5th on the all time list) and center fielders (10 consecutive Gold Gloves) of all time.


Numbers alone will illustrate that KGJ had one of the great careers in major league baseball history. Numbers aside, what makes Ken Griffey Jr. so special to me is not that he hit so many home runs, but how much he loved hitting them; not that he was a great defensive outfielder, but how hard he went after every ball. That combination of talent and love for the game won’t be matched by another player for a very long time.