Lookout Landing

Shannon's making it sound like LaRue's article really did wind up being what forced the issue.

He's a hero.

Fearless Frog - June 2, 2010 reply

That's cold, haha.

:(

Wish it would of worked out better for you in 2010 Junior, we still love you and THANK YOU! (for being a great player and retiring).

MFAN - June 2, 2010 reply

So happy /sad / surprised

Poochie - June 2, 2010 via mobile reply

Should we let the body get cold or is it fair to wonder who replaces for him?

Now we find out who the real men are in the Griffey challenge.

MFAN - June 2, 2010 reply

Not me!

I guess I'm never drinking beer again for the rest of my life.

Fear - June 2, 2010 reply

............

Robert I need a handy.

Fuck it I'll be back.

ahahahaha

I am ending the challenge in celebration of an amazing career.

I can’t believe it came to this.

Rich Langford - June 2, 2010 reply

So if Fett doesn't follow through with his end of the bargain does that mean he's not a real man?

Robert - June 2, 2010 reply

One of the most bittersweet moments of my life

Griffin Cooper - June 2, 2010 reply

These emotions are so are confusing.

God I loved watching him in his prime.

Should have left after last year. He finished the last couple weeks strong and was

carried off the field by his teammates.

This year was an utter disaster for him.

Confirmed by the Mariners' official Twitter

here

Now I can say it without a sense of conflict:

Jr. thank you so much for all the wonderful memories you gave me and so many others. You play brought myself and countless others joy. Enjoy your time with your family and you can expect rousing ovations anytime you want to come back and say hi.

I'm sortof in this boat myself

I was probably one of the biggest “throw Griffey overboard” advocates while he was still helping drag down the team; but now I can wish him well in his retirement.

I was one of these too. I wish him the best in his retirement. You were an amazing player.

My family is now grateful that I won’t say “Retire your fat ass already”, as I was doing every time he came up to bat this past year.

TrustBaseball - June 2, 2010 reply

My dad never really got it. He still saw 1990s Griffey in the batter's box.

So, Griffey and Milton Bradley were our two main points of contention this year.

I didn't think you'd do it

but thanks for taking the Mike Schmidt route instead of prolonging this.

WEEEEEEEEE!

WEEEEEEEE!

It may be something that needed to happen

But, this is a sad day as well. Thanks for all the memories, Junior.

Coug1990 - June 2, 2010 reply

Griffey 2010 highlights on ESPN

a bunch of ground balls past 2nd base.

"Wanted to retire BEFORE it got to an embarrassing stage." Huh

Just saw it on Baseball Tonight.

I am equally sad and relieved.

Floyd Gondoli - June 2, 2010 reply

Our 40-man roster is running out of players

Down to 37 or 36?

37!

Wooo!

This is a really weird development, I've never seen anything like that before.

Is a move going to be made before the game?

How?

What do you mean how?

Tacoma isn’t that far away or anything

Yeah, as long as Tacoma is in town!

They are in Sacramento

Awww, that's what I was wondering.

Thanks.

They've probably been aware this was in the works for most of the day.

Sacremento isn’t that far away.

Nate Dogg - June 2, 2010 reply

That's a good point

Though you’d think we would have heard news of someone leaving the team.

WHO KNOWS

Perhaps, but I think Wak's got a short bench tonight

Not that it should change the way he manages.

Room opens up immediately on the 25 man and there's room on the 40 man roster.

Maybe Brad Nelson?

I meant how can they fill the spot tonight, sorry.

Tacoma is out of town.

It's only 5 o'clock

June 2, 2010

The dark ages of Grifflent ceased throughout the land.

My stars!

Thank you, Junior.

It’s a shame it had to end like this, but you are the reason I became an M’s fan.

Having said that, I'm busting out the celebatory brews tonight.

So when he...

Inevitably and undeservingly gets voted into the All-Star game, can Guti take his place?

Tamuzi - June 2, 2010 reply

As a lifelong Packers fan...

I spent all of 2009 rooting for Brett Favre to go down in a brutal and horrific injury. When it almost happened in the NFC Championship game I was sickened. “This is awful. Not like this.”

This is a little like that.

Jr. isn't hitting .330

for the Angles. I don’t get the comparison.

Basically, it's bittersweet.

I wanted it to happen, and would ultimately be glad at its impact but it’s still kind of a bummer.

I disdain the Packers

and I loved the Brett Favre injury.

Also the collapse.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Suck it, Vikings

Bite me

seattlecougar - June 2, 2010 reply

I enjoyed all the illegal hits by the Saints that weren't called.

Fuck you NFL for becoming the NBA right in front of our eyes.

I was ecstatic both when Favre's ankle was seemingly snapped and even moreso when he was intercepted

I’m a diehard cheesehead.

CKel - June 2, 2010 reply

I am not a big Packers fan.

But ohmygod fuck Brett Favre.

Hitting coach? Or even get rid of Mike "I send everyone home" Brumley?

Too soon probably.

I’m sure he’ll want to step away from the game for at least a short time.

I think he wants to go home.

I don't think he could conceivably be worse than Brumley.

I also don’t think that’s where he wants to be in his life. He seems like the kind of player who wants a quiet retirement away from baseball. He’s obviously a family man (witness: trade to Cincinnati), so I doubt we’ll ever see him in uniform again.

You're probably right, I just like seeing him in an M's uniform and I want him to continue helping the team

So with that I can always dream

Give the man some time.

I'm not suggesting he become a coach tomorrow or even this season

All I’m saying is I’d like to see him come back and help the team. Calm down

Calm down?

I wasn’t aware that I was up…. I’m just saying that typically when someone retires, they want some time to spend with family, adjust to life after playing, and that sort of thing. Give the man some time, and maybe someday he will want to get back into baseball in some way.

ESPN with the following front page article..

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners say Ken Griffey Jr. is retiring.

Playoffs!

Nick S - June 2, 2010 reply

I should add this to the optimism post

I agree

Ride off into the sunset with your head held high, Junior.

Thanks for the memories.

I will always love this .gif.

WEEEEEE!

Wow, I really wanted this to happen but now that it has I'm sort of sad

Same here.

And I’m totally taken by surprise by my reaction. I haven’t cared very much about him for a long time.

I'm a little surprised as well.

The baseball person in me says “oh thank you!”, but the rest of me wishes he had been able to leave on better terms.

I've been poo-pooing the nostalgia people all year

But it only took about 5 seconds for that to come back to me. I mean, the guy is at least half the reason I love baseball.

Robert Lintott - June 2, 2010 reply

What about Griffey LLent?

voltron27 - June 2, 2010 reply

Looks like I'm missing prom.

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2010/6/2/1498495/ken-griffey-jr-is-retiring#38874138

.

Am I the only one not sad at all?

But I never really had huge Griffey love. My love was tied to Edgar and Dan Wilson.

I'm with you

I was never attached to Junior the way I was to Edgar.

I feel bad for him that this is how his career ended

but I’m not going to miss him. My first vivid memories of him was the forced trade to Cincinnati.

my first Vivid memories were around the age of 16

I'm not even remotely sad, but I'm trying not to rain on anyone's parade

I'm not sad per se.

More wistful. I’m happy for the increased chances of success this season. It’s just now that he’s officially done I think back to growing up in the 90’s and everything about watching him play everyday.

I'm sort of relieved, to be honest.

You don’t root for failure, and it was painful watching Griffey play, the same way it was painful watching Franco Harris…

eponymous_coward - June 2, 2010 reply

How can something so right still feel a little bit wrong?

We all knew it needed to happen, but way to go out with a whimper.

Torrid - June 2, 2010 reply

HE HAD THE PERFECT SEND-OFF LAST YEAR! IT DIDN'T HAVE TO END LIKE THIS

FILL THE ROSTER GMZ!

Too bad DFAing Kanekoa couldn’t wait a couple days.

Tyler is a G - June 2, 2010 reply

We can pull him back off waivers, I believe

I think you are right.

EIGHT MAN BULLPEN!

There's only six pitchers in our bullpen right now

Wow so can we have two bits of good news before the game even starts!

Tyler is a G - June 2, 2010 reply

The only catch with Rule V guys is outrighting them.

You can DFA them and bring them back to the majors, as far as I know.

I think I'd rather see the team call up Brad Nelson.

I'd like to see another infielder, someone like Vazquez or Woodward

Who can sub in for Wilson without Tui having to embarrass himself

I'd rather Tui go away, too.

I've kind of come to terms with Tui not going anywhere

It sucks, but it seems like the team has a hard on for him

If they really have confidence in his future, they should send him back to Triple-A so he can play everyday.

I'd prefer Tui go away and get replaced by Vazquez or Hannahan in a separate move.

Handicapped with a bat or not, its sad to see the kid hang it up

it would be alot more sad if this season wasn’t such a disaster, but atleast its over. Next up: Junior as assistant batting coach?

E2ESQUARE - June 2, 2010 reply

Kind of sad how this went down

But I immediately have only good feelings about Griffey again, and I’m hoping most other Seattle fans feel the same way.

I still kind of wanted him to play an inning in center field when it really didn’t matter though. Both for nostalgia and entertainment purposes.

I would have preferred a retirement announcement

Immediately followed by one final game of him in CF. Or perhaps an inning

CKel - June 2, 2010 reply

Yeah it would have been nice to do an Edgar Martinez Day sort of thing

Except like Edgar I'd go the 1 pitch in Center Field route

I agree completely

It's my birthday today, no joke!

Best birthday present ever. It’s going to be tough to top this one.

mont_mariner - June 2, 2010 reply

My dad's birthday too!

/LLLJ

Torrid - June 2, 2010 reply

...

In all seriousness, I respect the hell out of him for doing what he felt was best for the team

You’ll always be a Mariner, Griffdawg.

Nick S - June 2, 2010 reply

Junior, you were the tecmo bo of many baseball video games..

And hero to many including myself. I won’t remember these few months, i’ll remember the other 21 years. You are the best.

bagsflyfree - June 2, 2010 reply

I have a shit ton of work to do

and I’m just mindlessly scrolling through this and my Twitter feed. Griffey is one of few that could do that to me.

Now Win One for the Griffer!!

Best of luck for your life outside of baseball Ken

From a Mariners point of view for the season, this is only positive

aussie_chop - June 2, 2010 reply

Also the new USSM server kicks ass

It’s still running at good speed

Woo Fangraphs!

Good for Junior and good for the Mariners.

This makes everyone look better.

Teej - June 2, 2010 reply

This is the best possible outcome for everyone.

There is no downside to this from a baseball perspective.

But I’m still sad to see him go, there is a very real chance we will never see a player as good as he was ever again in this town.

wetzelcoal - June 2, 2010 reply

You must not have heard of Matt Tuiasosopo

Nick S - June 2, 2010 reply

Thank god the M's didn't take part in GriffLLent and waited for him to hit a HR then retire him.

Boy am I glad we didn't podcast today

I'd be more excited about this if there was someone cool who would not be coming up.

But there isn’t.

*now

I still so fondly recall things like

this. Griffey dropping two monster HR against a steroid filled Roger Clemens in the middle of one of Griffey’s patented monster Aprils. Oh that swing.

Oh my god, Bobby Ayala.

I thought we all agreed to forget about him a long time ago.

wetzelcoal - June 2, 2010 reply

I was too young to avidly follow the Mariners then, so I'm a few years behind on the disgust.

I haven’t reached recovery yet.

Bobby Ayala ruined my childhood.

FairWeatherFred - June 2, 2010 reply

Wrong.

Look at the OPS of those hitters.

Mike Blowers blows.

That was Griffey's 11th, 12th, and 13th HR

in our 24th game!!! How many games into this season before a Mariner has 13? 90?

Correction: 22nd game!! More amazing!

Dennis Martinez pitched for the M's!??! I don't remember that at all.

Did he throw his no-hitter with us?

Quite the opposite in fact.

Against us?

It was Bosio and RJ that threw our no-hitters, right?

You are correct about RJ and Bosio

Not sure who Dennis Martinez threw it against.

seattle_since_81 - June 2, 2010 reply

Quite the opposite in that he gave up many, many hits as Mariner.

It was a perfect game and it was for the Expos at Dodger Stadium.

Man, MLB.com is slow to the draw

It is just now being mentioned

Well, I already wrote my Griffey post.

But this is both heartbreaking and nice. Good luck in life Griffey.

CapSea - June 2, 2010 reply

PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS PLAYOFFS

Looking back in 3 years or so

I won’t even remember these two months, and will instead remember the perfect ending.

Fuck and yes. 2009 was awesome.

I hope it's the same for me.

Griffey will come back in August and lead us past the Angels

3rd place!

Only if someone remembers to wake him up.

ThomasG - June 2, 2010 reply

It really is too bad he didn't get one more plate appearance to get the ovation and whatnot

I’m sure they’ll do a Griffeyday though in the next couple weeks

Is he done as of RIGHT now?

Or might we see him in the lineup tonight?

Done

Thanks, I wasn't positive

Yes

He’s done effective immediately

I'm secretly hoping he'll pop out of the dugout one last time before the game tonight.

melenious - June 2, 2010 reply

MLB Tonight has a pretty moving thing on him.

InSpokane - June 2, 2010 reply

FUCK YO BOBBLEHEADS

Tripled in value!

Knoll - June 2, 2010 reply

It's the only triple Fat Griffey ever got.

That's the first Griffey-related triple in five years!

ThomasG - June 2, 2010 reply

This might be my favorite part of it.

Eyebrows - June 2, 2010 via mobile reply

June 18th will be Griffeyday

That way they can still give out the bobblehead

Fuck that I've got tickets to a Griffer bobblehead night.

I want to see them awkwardly continue to promote it as planned.

Eyebrows - June 2, 2010 via mobile reply

Hey, Ichiro and Griffey, Cooperstown's calling

but we understand you have some more work to do right here in Seattle!

Maybe they can just reprint the nameplate

Bobblehead faces are so pathetically anonymous. I guess it’s likely to have darker skin tone, so maybe….Milton bobblehead night! Surely he’d have an eBay market of his own….

Torjazz - June 2, 2010 reply

I do wish it would have ended in a different way, but it's a bittersweet moment.

Thanks for the memories Jr!

Heydude - June 2, 2010 reply

GMZ is saying Griffey's agent let the team know he was retiring about an hour and a half ago.

See y'all at Cooperstown in 2014, I guess.

Griffey and Edgar and Randy

Is Griffey eligible to go in at the same time as Randy?

Actually, no.

I don't think he is

I think he has to wait an extra year.

Designate it as a holy day on the Mariners calendar.

Take a personal day from work for “religious reasons.”

Something tells me Randy Johnson is going in as a Diamondback.

Four Cy Youngs, a ring, a World Series MVP and a perfect game in Arizona, versus one Cy Young and a no-hitter in Seattle.

Unfortunately I think you're right.

Eh, it could go either way and I wouldn't have a problem if it was as a D-Back

It probably should be.

With the Diamondbacks having 4 fans and all

I see no reason why Mariner fans can’t still go to Cooperstown on his induction and claim him as our own.

That would be awesome.

10,000 M’s fans show up to cheer him on, and 12 D-Backs.

It can and should happen.

Fuck protocol.

2015?

Since he's retiring mid season, I'm not entirely sure how the eligibility cycle will work.

This year counts.

It only takes one game to count as a “year” in Cooperstown eligibility

craig3410 - June 2, 2010 reply

Bet you could tell by looking up that Mays fellow.

Eyebrows - June 2, 2010 via mobile reply

I've heard of this guy.

Wasn’t he like the greatest player before Ken Griffey Jr. or something?

They've made exceptions before

For Clemente and Gehrig but hey

So you're saying Robert needs to go murder Griffey right now so he can get into the Hall of Fame faster?

Terminal illness is always a possibility

Gigantism.

thebyron - June 2, 2010 reply

I got to see his last career at-bat on Sunday.

Cool!

theslothking - June 2, 2010 reply

Er...Monday.

theslothking - June 2, 2010 reply

And it was a great one!

He reached base!

No you didn't.

Huh, so did I.

On Monday I mean.

Wow, me too.

My last memory of Griffey will be booing him walking up to plate …. uh ….. I now regret it.

MT Olson - June 2, 2010 reply

Quick! Let's vote him into the ASG.

GMZ skirts the "who takes his roster spot" question.

Z never comments on specific moves.

This is a little different than most other moves

Tacoma playing tonight?

Time to watch out for who gets scratched from the lineup.

He did say "someone in Tacoma may get a call tonight or tomorrow morning"

Tommy Everidge!

FUCK YES

He hit .417/.481/.875 last week.

JY - June 2, 2010 reply

I wouldn't be surprised if they do another move at the same time, so there isn't one player who will forever be known as "the guy who took Griffey's spot."

Mike Cameron. Duh.

Well, maybe Z doesn't want to tarnish Mike Cameron's legacy.

I can't imagine they'd make multiple moves just for this reason

There's plenty of other moves that could be made. It's not as if Griffey is the only not-major-league-caliber player on the M's.

Right, but then that wouldn't be the only reason the move was made

There's no point.

Eh. I suppose. I just thought it might make a little sense. Guess not.

Also indicated they may not make a move till tomorrow

I bet the player is chosen within the next few hours but won't be officially announced until either tomorrow or after tonight's game.

I have to think they've had contingency plans in place for a while now.

This week could turn out to be hilarious for Hannahan.

(probably not)

Does everybody just forget

The degree to which Jr hosed the M’s when he left the first time?

I know the average Seattle fan is a bit sentimental- but it’s so odd to me how much love Jr gets, when he forced he way off the team. It’s never made sense to me that he gets loved and people still hate A-Rod.

My opinion.

He left to go home. A-Rod left for money.

Or they both left because players leave teams all the time and it's not a fucking betrayal of the city of it's fans

and everyone should grow up and get the fuck over it.

Yep.

He didn't just "leave" though

He forced the team to trade him and limited their ability to bargain in the process. That’s a far cry from leaving as a free agent.

Players do this all the time too.

Stop.

It's a fine point to bring up.

Everyone’s entitled to an opinion on Griffey.

Your house boss.

Seriously

He was a controversial fellow.

He just had fun out there.

I've always thought Griffey finally matured when he was in Cincinnati

When he forced his way out of Seattle he was in many ways still a petulant prima donna. It always seemed to me that he hadn’t learned to deal with criticism and was more than a bit self-absorbed.

In Cincinnati his expectations unraveled on him, and I think he came away from that time with a better grasp of who he was. When he was on the team in 2009 he appeared to carry some maturity that he didn’t show previously.

Steve Nelson - June 2, 2010 reply

Art Thiel's Out of Left Field paints a picture of Griffey as a monumental prick.

I think most people believe that it took him a long time to grow up.

which is probably not all that surprising considering the hothouse he grew up in.

msb - June 2, 2010 reply

His piece in the Annual does the opposite, though.

yuniform - June 2, 2010 reply

The Seattle media also thought Gary Payton was a prick

It didn’t stop the fans from loving him either.

The Seattle media was wrong

They just didn’t understand his brand of shit-talking. Payton was all about Seattle.

As is evidenced by his support for Save Our Sonics.

I haven’t heard anything recently but I believe he still wants a team back here.

seattle_since_81 - June 3, 2010 reply

The only people that have a right to be mad at him for that are Lincoln and Armstrong

And apparently they got over it

And why is that?

The team that was left behind was not as good as it might have been. That hurt the fans in the same way that, say, a Carlos Silva signing would. Definitely justified anger if you’re inclined that way.

Torjazz - June 2, 2010 reply

Fans don't have a right to be upset?

How’s that work?

People were pretty upset with Jr when he originally forced the trade. It’s just been weird that people universally forget that when they can’t forgive Alex for taking the boatload of money somebody handed him.

A-Rod wasn't nearly as beloved in Seattle as Griffey was

The Mariners not having A-Rod would have just been a footnote

the Mariners without Griffey would be playing in St. Petersburg, FLA

I always associate Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez saving baseball in Seattle more than Griffey.

Ask those two who gets the most credit and they'll both insist it was Junior

you associate incorrectly

Really?

Given that Edgar was more productive in the ALDS, and Griffey was gone for half the season, I’m not sure I could agree.

i still remember the mockup Tampa Bay Mariners baseball card of Ken Griffey, Jr.

did they do one for Edgar?

Remind me of the relevance to their on-field performance

"saving baseball in Seattle" wasn't all the on-field performance

and if Griffey’s injury were part of your argument, didn’t legislature vote down the new stadium pretty handily that summer?

the propaganda made to sway people to build the stadium was “Ken Griffey, Jr might not play here anymore.”

So what?

If the Mariners don’t start winning, do you think that propaganda holds water?

It's not just about the results of the 1995 season.

Griffey was a huge icon, even bigger than Edgar.

plus Junior did score the winning run of Game 5

Sure, Griffey was the bigger icon.

But the general argument doesn’t go that the Mariners stayed because of having big icons. So does it matter?

As for scoring the winning run…they never get there without Edgar’s huge night the game before.

And they never get to that point without Griffey helping to build interest in the team as the franchise icon from 1989 to 1995

No argument.

The team doesn’t get to where it did in 95 without Griffey. But the same can be said about Edgar and Randy, too. And without the success created through their joint efforts, there’s no way the citizen referendum gets ignored to tax and build the stadium. It wouldn’t have been politically expedient to do that for a team that didn’t win. And in the end, the stadium was about political expediency.

And by the way...

I’m not talking solely out of my ass on this. My family is friends with one of the previous owners of the team, who had fairly good insights as to what specifically was going on in the decision-making process.

And people pissed at A-Rod for taking that money are stupid and just envious

Well that too, but the point is A-Rod vs. Griffey than whether or not A-Rod is a bad person because Tom Hicks bankrupted himself to sign him

A-Rod also insisted it wasn't about the money.

A-Rod was paid $2 million more than Tom Hicks paid George W. Bush for the Rangers.

Wasn’t about the money my ass.

A-Rod is a fucking liar

That's demonstrably false

he specifically said that money would play a factor in his decision

no, when he left, he said over and over again that Texas was going to win titles

and that what swayed him to leave was because he liked their minor league system, and not because Texas offered him double what everyone else did.

No, when he was being courted, he said that money would play a definite factor in his decision because of course it should

who would not want to set their family up for life as well as possible?

can't i just call A-Rod a fucking liar and not get hassled?

Please capitalize properly

Sure you can if you don't make shit up while doing it

and don’t display a short-sighted view of how baseball and player movement actually works

I didn't say it "shouldn't play a factor"

I never even blamed him for taking it, either. I just always found it funny when they asked him about the money, he’d immediately deflect to how great Texas’ farm system was.

I'm not even sure which side of this argument I'm on anymore

But to me, Griffey and A-Rod both left for selfish reasons and didn’t give a crap about what the fans thought.

Some people.

It’s not like everyone has amnesia about it.

I think your opinion is entirely valid, but it's going to fall on deaf ears today more than any other day.

Sure

Which is almost my point I guess. The sentimentality of (the bulk of) M’s fans is not only frustrating, but I think works against the success of the team.

Everybody is sentimental

Everybody?

I meant every large group

not every single person. My bad.

Jeff Sullivan - June 3, 2010 reply

Just wondering what you meant.

I guess that is correct.

Nope!

pdb - June 3, 2010 reply

I don't think it's exclusive to Mariners fans.

At the time the majority of controversy felt like media hype and I ignored it.

There were basic facts, and a lot of hyperbole. Jr. was here, then he was gone. I don’t appreciate the media attempting to sculpt my perspective on players.

I think you're just in a vast minority.

Most everyone’s forgiven Griffey for his faults and his errors. You haven’t. Whatever.

I just don't agree with the whole "getting mad at a player for leaving" view

I mean sports players are basically mercenaries, and are only there because they’re being paid to.

When they’re on my team, I (usually) love them, and when they leave (if they were good), I’ll be sad, but never angry.

The A-Rod hate is definitely irrational

That being said, everyone was pretty pissed at Randy and Junior too, but A-Rod has had his image pretty well trashed to the point that no one really likes the guy anymore. I think Seattle may have been a little more forgiving eventually if he hadn’t gone on to do the things that he’s done.

"I want to go back home and be close to my family. I have two young kids to raise."

“I get that y’all love me, and I’m really good, but I just don’t want to stay here. So trade me. Trade me or I’ll…well, I have this contract and I guess I’ll play, but I won’t do it happily. But I’ll play.”

“So we can either have you play for us and not be happy or we can send you to your family and have you be happy?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re really, really good, Ken. You posted 5.0 WAR in a year when you were allegedly sandbagging to force a trade.”

“Yeah.”

“…we want you to stay.”

“Your contract, technically. But I want to be happy and be with my family.”

“Fuck it; we’ll trade you.”

Somehow I am not offended by this.

We didn't forget

I was on Griffey’s case in a big way after he forced his way out of town. But his returning last year was a kind of mea culpa and admission that he had made a mistake and really loves Seattle. And now he’s finally recognizing that he can’t do it anymore and has stepped aside. All is forgiven.

*its

Plus we got Mike Cameron for him

And Cameron was awesome.

With A-Rod we just got a “welp, gotta go!”

That's how free agency works

I'm sure ARod would have allowed us to acquire a player in exchange for him

At least he could've given us that picture of himself as a centaur.

If I remember correctly, ARod said straight up he wouldnt sign an extension.

Even if traded, which sort of killed his trade value. He had every right to, he’s not stupid he knew he had a payday coming, but at the time it seemed kind of douchey.

FairWeatherFred - June 2, 2010 reply

I know, I'm just saying that's the reason why I didn't mind Griffey leaving as much

The fact that it was a trade, and a good trade softened the blow

I think we were awfully lucky that trade worked out as well as it did.

Yeah

definitely needed to get Pokey Reese for that trade to be a fair one.

I have lots of opinions, but today isn't the day for that.

Yes, we do choose to forget it.

So pipe down. We need something to be dumbly sunny about. We deserve something.

SethGrandpa - June 2, 2010 reply

We got Cameron who was a stud and beloved player.

Felix Day!

I thought I'd be way happier about this

chaney - June 2, 2010 reply

So many have already said what I could.

I knew this had to happen, but goddamn if my eyes aren’t watering right now.

-I remember buying his candy bar.
-I remember pulling his Upper Deck rookie card and thinking it was the best card ever.
-I remember watching him rob Jesse Barfield of his 200th HR. {at 1:54. Bonus: Randy sighting!}
(Jesse with his hands on his hips is the best part.)
-The slide in ’95.
-When he came back to us as a Red and called Seattle “home.”

I need to stop now, but I know this was the right move. My heart just needs some time to accept it.

jwolf0 - June 2, 2010 reply

His hair in that video! So tight!

sanford_and_son - June 2, 2010 reply

Seattle sports has lost two great icons this year.

Thank you for giving me a reason to watch sports while growing up, Griffey and Walter Jones. Without Griffey, my love of baseball wouldn’t be the same.

seattle_since_81 - June 2, 2010 reply

I'm with you on that one

My love of baseball and my childhood/younger days would be much different if it wasn’t for The Kid

bomdal - June 2, 2010 reply

As I say below

He was about the only reason watching the Mariners was evenly remotely amusing for many years.

"[Griffey's] hot topic on this day, while watching Nomar Garciaparra call an end to his career on MLB Network, was how he won't call a press conference when he retires. "I'll send a fax,'' he said.) "

msb - June 2, 2010 reply

Thank you Griffey

For all you’ve done for this team.

I know your career didn’t end the way you hoped but the rest of your career more than makes up for that.

Legend.

.

Moved to Seattle in the winter of '99.

My views on Griffey are a bit skewed. As a result, all my fondest memories come from this:

Still the greatest baseball game ever.

Amen.

yuniform - June 2, 2010 reply

I loved the follow up game to this one, Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run.

Heydude - June 2, 2010 reply

Winning Run was great because WHOA REAL NAMES!

Ah the era of split licenses

You get the team names but not the players or vice versa.

I have an SNES emulator on my computer

I just started playing that game again when I heard that news. Awesome.

I've been playing it for the last few weeks.

I’m gonna go hit 4 home runs with Junior now…

Sandhop will hit 5.

Such a great game

It’s in my room right now, along with Winning Run

bomdal - June 2, 2010 reply

Players get to be on the cover of various sports games every year, but only legends get their own game.

Ken Griffey, Jr. is a legend. They should make this again, now that he is retired, and turn it into the Madden series of baseball.

Griffey was about the only thing that made Ms baseball worth watching

In many of those dark pre-1995 years.

My fondest early memory of Griffey is him and his father hitting back to back jacks in 1990. Special moment.

It's going to be all sorts of awesome when the fans end up voting Griffey into the all-star game.

schismatix - June 2, 2010 reply

I'm going to go vote for Griffey right now just for this

Expose the system! (Even more!)

schismatix - June 2, 2010 reply

This was his aim all along

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQ8N1KacJc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR8KWQKYMag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0-ZU8njdo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMYAEHE2GrM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpO9MSEWpxc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVKDQgT_b-Y

.

CapSea - June 2, 2010 reply

Fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSz16ngdsG0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdG618TMc5E

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbXvaE39wM

.

CapSea - June 2, 2010 reply

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWQvEDSgC7A

Wish he would have stuck around for this homestand to be given a proper send off

I think most fans would have liked that and I personally (who re-sell tickets) would have stood to make an extra $500-$1000 this weekend. ;-)

TIFO - June 2, 2010 reply

Now what would take the front page Griffey's retirement or Gallaragga's perfect game?

The perfect game story has been overdone.

This is the first big retirement of the year!

schismatix - June 2, 2010 reply

I'm actually rooting against this perfect game.

You’re ruining the fucking mystique you assholes.

Word.

Anything that marginalizes Dallas Braden is good in my book

Stockton is horrible

There's nothing you can say about it, "it's perfect"

Not to sound like a dick

But that was the most unimpressive perfect game/no-hitter that I’ve seen

baetown415 - June 2, 2010 reply

BHAHAHAHHAHAHA

OUT!

I'm sure Shannon will write this up, but earlier on 710 talking to Calabro she said that for her, the moment she would remember from this year came in the middle of the kerfuffle.

She said that recently Griffey had been looking for something he could do with Taryn— and that she had expressed interest in flying, so they were taking flying lessons. Shannon said when the team flew into Tampa on the off day, you could see cars for various players waiting on the tarmac, next to the players bus. Junior, instead of getting in a car to go home to Orlando, she said he walked past them all to a private plane, took off his sports coat, put on the headphones, checked in with his flight instructor, and turned around to wave at the players and coaches, a huge smile on his face.

She said she loved the thought of him literally flying into the sunset, having so much to look forward to with his family in his retirement.

msb - June 2, 2010 reply

Thanks Jr.

Griffey you will be missed! #24 you are my hero!

PWCBro - June 2, 2010 reply

I was hoping to take my little brother to see him on fathers day.

I knew he’d play that day. Damn, this sucks. Wanted to see him play 1 last time. Don’t care if he plays like shit. Still the sweetest 40 year old swing ever. This definitely saddens me today. Now I gotta break the news to my little bro, kids going to be heartbroken.

FisteeFisterer - June 2, 2010 reply

I saw him play in Bellingham at my first live game.

I actually got the chance to meet him, when I was a kid. We were family friends with someone in the Mariners org. and we were sitting in the press box in Seattle before batting practice, just so my brother and I could see the field.

We’re sitting there, in awe of the Dome, when I look over. Junior’s standing at the door of the press box, with my brother, then maybe…7 or 8 years old (I’m fairly certain this was ’93), sitting indian-style, completely oblivious to who is behind him. Ken gives us a smile, picks up my brother, and sits him on his shoulders. He steps in, says a few words, lets me toss a ball back and forth with him a few times behind the plate, signs my Upper Deck rookie card, tips his cap, and leaves.

I’m still upset he’s held the team down this year, but Goddamn if he won’t always be my favorite baseball player on the face of the planet.

wilsonpdx - June 2, 2010 reply

The first autograph I ever got from a player was from Griffey in about 1989

He was so awesome to me (I was 8 then).

Same experience.

He didn’t really pay much attention to the adults in the room, but he was amazing to the two of us.

Incidentally, the first autograph I got was from Jim Lefebvre. Sigh.

wilsonpdx - June 2, 2010 reply

I remember walking to the Kingdome with my brother and mom and him driving up in his corvette with a big grin on his face.

He smiled and said hi to all the fans as he drove by. Of course, he had his cap on backwards. What a cool cat he was.

kentroyals5 - June 2, 2010 reply

I just pulled that ball off the top of my bookshelf and am looking at it smiling

Right now.

I was a lefebvre believer.

When you’re young, you’ll believe anything though.

FisteeFisterer - June 2, 2010 reply

I feel like my excitement over that autograph has cursed the organization for years.

Blame me, friends.

wilsonpdx - June 2, 2010 reply

My second autograph

Howard Johnson of the Mets.

I AM SO HAPPY

Graham MacAree - June 2, 2010 reply

Come now, be serious.

I'm pretty sure he is, and don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic too

I’m just trying to be respectful of pro-Griffey folks.

The pro-Griffey folks helped fuck this team's roster right over

Graham MacAree - June 2, 2010 reply

I think we've established that I'm nicer than you

Griffey was my favorite player in the 1990s, but I am just as happy as Graham.

What he did in the 1990s, for me, means nothing for my enjoyment of baseball in 2010. I got angry (yay, past tense!) every single time I saw his name in the lineup or the boxscore or saw him hit on TV.

Oh God, don't fucking blame Larry LaRue you whore

I want to send Larry LaRue a thank you card.

If the media forced this, then god bless the media

Blame implies he caused something bad

i was the batboy for the 1987 Bellingham Baby M's

I still have a broken bat signed by Griffey. Sad day.

Thanks, Junior.

John Morgan - June 2, 2010 reply

Man, I'm late to the party.

Here’s my two cents: I was born and raised here in Puget Sound, Griffey was my idol growing up. I spend hours mimicking his swing in the backyard. Then when he left, it left like my heart was ripped out. I still followed his career in Cincinnati, but it wasn’t the same. Once he came back to Seattle, I fell in love all over again. Should he have retired after last year? Absolutely. Did I like him dragging down the team this year? NO. But he will always have a huge place in my heart.

Today is the end of an era for a legend. He was a class act on and off the field throughout his career. One of the sweetest swings and best smiles the game has ever seen. Thanks for everything Jr. You will be missed.

wyte_lightning - June 2, 2010 reply

HAHAHAHA.

YOU HAD YOUR PERFECT RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET OPPORTUNITY, YOUR CHANCE TO BE EULOGIZED PROPERLY. YOU BLEW IT AND NOW WE GET TO LAUGH AT YOU SLINKING OFF INTO THE NIGHT LIKE A CROOKED BUSINESSMAN SKIPPING TOWN.

Thanks for the memories.

abender20 - June 2, 2010 reply

?

Robert - June 2, 2010 reply

I feel like my childhood just retired.

Probably overdue.

JY - June 2, 2010 reply

Same here.

It’s like, I’ve known for years that my childhood was over and that my glory days were probably behind me, but now it’s official.

sanford_and_son - June 3, 2010 reply

It had to happen, but I'm still a little bit sad.

Baseball without Ken Griffey Jr. seems wrong somehow.

I Lick Squirrels - June 2, 2010 reply

Oh my!

ThundaPC - June 2, 2010 reply

The last time I saw a live Griffey at-bat was in Spring Training this year

And he hit a walk-off grand slam. As illegitimate of a home run as it was (especially since it was in Spring Training), that memory will always stick with me.

I have these strange mixed feelings today, because I first started rooting for Griffey when I was 6 in 1994. My family recently sold the house we built when I was ten. It was like the book had finally closed on a major part of my childhood. This feels the same way.

Now that that’s out of the way, though…. FUCK YES NOW WE CAN MOVE BACK TOWARDS A SEMBLANCE OF A MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTER IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY FOR MONTHS AND IT’S FINALLY HERE AND I’M OH SO HAPPY.

Matt Erickson - June 2, 2010 reply

I think of the best bets ever.

Robert - June 2, 2010 reply

Glad and sad

and also a little bitter…it didn’t have to be this way, he was paraded off the field on the shoulders of his teammates last year for God’s sake. I wish he had been able to see as clearly as many of us did that it wasn’t going to get any better then that.

That being said, thank you Griffey…your play in the ‘90s eased my transition from child sheep follower of the Angels to the rabid, diehard M’s fan I am today.

Looking forward to that HOF speech!

Omerta - June 2, 2010 reply

Goddamn you Junior for making this moment one of relief than one of reverence and sadness.

Just, goddamnit.

Goose - June 2, 2010 reply

If only the bullpen hadn't been so shitty it might not have come down to this.

Not to mention Figgins, Lopez, and Kotchman hitting like crap until we were almost out of it.
Not to mention defensive bozos like Rob Johnson and Moore.

Fuck, this news makes me extremely sad. And pissed off at the fucks who underperformed so badly.

Junior’s performance was only a small part of this team’s crappy record, no matter how much he was being made a scapegoat on the Mariner blogs.
Man, this makes me sad.

Sam Regens - June 2, 2010 reply

Figgins, Lopez, and Kotchman, the bullpen, and the catchers aren't the reason Griffey hit sub .200

Yeah the team has blown thus far, but it comes down to Griffey no longer being able to play at an acceptable level.

Ken Griffey Jr. has done nothing but piss me off for the last 11 years

and I am overcome with sadness that he is gone. :9 :( :(

Poochie - June 2, 2010 reply

Thanks, Junior.

Thanks for the effortless swing, the spectacular catches that you made look almost routine, the tickling, the ballpark, the franchise, the backwards caps, the homers, the pranks, the grin.

thebyron - June 2, 2010 reply

Hey guys, Giants fan living in Seattle here

I’ve been lurking here for a while and I’ve watched the M’s for 9 years. I guess this is a good place to make my first post here.

I’m glad I got a chance to watch Griffey hit a homer in the flesh last year, even if it was off Barry Zito. It would’ve been nice if he had gone out a hero last year, but I guess he wanted to give it one last go.

Murray, Present - June 2, 2010 reply

You jerks made this happen

You jerks made this happen. There is absolutely no reason for the disrespect that Ken Griffey Jr. endured on this site and in the media. None. It makes me sick. He’s the modern-day equivalent of Aaron or Ruth. There will never be another Ken Griffey Jr. And the media just drove him off our roster. Jerks.

Toutonghi - June 2, 2010 reply

Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with the multiple knee issues, declining bat speed, and sub .200 BA?

At some point you have to consider the possibility that Griffey woke up this morning and realized that he just didn’t have anything left in the tank. Instead of prolonging this experience, he did the noble thing and walked away ala Schmidt.

I think you greatly overestimate the effect a couple writers and websites can have on anything

.

I hope that's true, because fi it is, we're getting rid of Rob Johnson next

I was hoping we (the vile and powerful online community) would go after Sweeney next!

mark sobba - June 3, 2010 reply

I'd about 40 times rather have Mike Sweeney on this roster than Rob Johnson

seattlebruin - June 3, 2010 reply

Sweeney is a distant third, Tui is second.

TrustBaseball - June 4, 2010 reply

You can always buy a VHS tape of your favorite Griffey highlights and watch that instead of a 2010 Mariners game.

Griffey is a terrible baseball player right now. Has been for years. The guy has been given all the respect in the world for what he has done, and more. And I think most of the people around here share that respect.

And yeah, as others have said, I’m pretty sure Lookout Landing didn’t push Griffey into retirement. If we had that kind of power, trust me, the roster would look a little different.

Teej - June 2, 2010 reply

All good things come to an end.

This year should’ve been about honoring Griffey, not watching him tear down his own legacy. This outcome is better for everyone, Griffey included.

MT Olson - June 2, 2010 reply

He couldn't play baseball anymore.

OlSalty - June 3, 2010 reply

Yes, because watching Griffey hit .184/.250/.204 was really doing a lot to remind us of his glory days and add a lasting shine to his career

seattlebruin - June 3, 2010 reply

I don't think you realize at all how much most of us love Griffey and yet how badly we wanted him to retire anyway

seattlebruin - June 3, 2010 reply

If I had that sort of power I'd move on to ruining your credit rating and alienating you from your family next

pdb - June 3, 2010 reply

If the media had that power Griffey would have been out of Cincinnati in the third year

msb - June 3, 2010 reply

Bonds was better

Get over yourself

baetown415 - June 3, 2010 reply

But...but... STEROIDS!

Eyeball Kid - June 3, 2010 reply

Plus he's an asshole.

thebyron - June 3, 2010 reply

FINALLY

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Eyeball Kid - June 3, 2010 reply

I remember following Griffey’s career from day one; not exactly an easy feat for a 9-year-old kid living on the East Coast. (It usually meant stealthily staying up late at night to catch The George Michael Sports Machine or getting up really early and catching SportsCenter before my parents woke up.) Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that I really started following Griffey when Upper Deck released their inaugural set in 1989 because, after all, that was the card to have. Griffey was never my favorite Mariner – that was Edgar Martinez – but he was always the dude that I, and everyone else, wanted to be when playing wiffleball or sandlot ball or even while playing off-the-wall. (Back when we used to "call" players, i.e. "I’m Ken Griffey Jr.!" "No you’re not. You were him last time!") I remember trying to hit lefty because of him. I remember purposely taking late breaks on balls hit my way into the outfield just to make highlight-reel catches like Griffey. (Got me benched quite a few times in Little League, that’s for sure.) I also remember asking my parents for Christmas every year for a Ken Griffey Jr. model bat and glove for Little League. (I ended up with a damn second-hand "Al Kaline" model glove handed down from my cousin.) I remember when I finally got the Griffey glove – I was 14 and well out of my Little League years – I still squealed like a little child and called up a few friends to play catch in the middle of the winter. Even though my favorite player in the game was Tony Gwynn, Griffey was always the player I wanted to become; the effortless superduperstar with the big grin.

The amazing thing about Griffey – and, certainly there are a lot of amazing things about him – is that I’m sure pretty much every baseball fan our age has some Griffey-related nostalgia, even if they weren’t a fan of his, or the Mariners, or even of baseball in general. I don’t think any player captivated all of baseball, across the entire world, like Griffey did in his prime.

ThomasG - June 3, 2010 reply

By my count I watched Griffey play in person well over 400 times.

The final 5 times nearly destroyed all of the joy the previous 400 plus games had brought to me. Thank goodness this is over and we can return to trying to win ballgames.