Game Eight

 Twins avoid their first losing steak of the season but pounding the Seattle Mariners 11 to 5. Kirby Puckett adds two more home runs to increase his league leading total to 14. 


George Kenneth Griffey Jr. The Kid, Junior. #24. The man who scored the run that saved baseball in Seattle. What more can you say about Griffey that hasn't already been said. He was the star of the Mariners from the moment he put on the uniform. Expectations were big, and he didn't disappoint. 

His dad, Ken Griffey Sr, was a solid player for the Reds, and Yankees among others for more than 15 years. Junior was at the ballpark hanging with guys like Pete Rose, Dave Concepcion, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench. He learned to play the game, and play it well. He was never included in the shadow of the steroid scandals that troubled the sport for more than a decade.

Griffey played his heart out for the Mariners. Without Griffey, Buhner, Martinez, Johnson and the rest of the comers and goers in the mid to late 90's I highly doubt that there would be a Major League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest right now. The groundwork that this group laid the foundation for Safeco Field. Ironically, the reason stated in almost every new stadium built since Camden Yards in 1993 was to increase revenue and allow teams like the Mariners to keep players like Griffey. July 15, 1999 was the day Safeco opened Griffey went 1 for 3 in that game. But the promise of being able to keep Griff was not to be as in February of 2000 he was traded to his hometown Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Jake Meyre, Mike Cameron, Antonio Perez and Brett Tomko. Griffey stayed with  the Reds for 8 seasons and a series of injuries during his time in Cincy kept him from fulfilling his potential. Some would say that Griffey's career was a disappointment, citing that he could have broken Hank Aaron's home run record had he stayed healthy. My opinion, was and always will be, Ken Griffey JR played his careeer the only way he knew how, all out. He gave everything he had on the field and gave maximum effort. Despite his injuries that probably robbed him of at least two full seasons, he still comes out with the following line

2671 Games 2781 Hits, 630 HR, 1836 RBI .284 BA .380 OBP .538 Slg .907 OPS. Pretty damn impressive if you ask me.  Very few people can say they played Major League Baseball. Even fewer can say they played it at a high level for 2 decades. Griffey Jr. is one of those people. I feel very fortunate to say, that I watched him play in person. Thanks Griff.

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