In a era dominated by this steroids cloud, it is important to think that one of the best there ever was is still going, despite a injury plagued career. Now, if he had taken something to lessen the injuries think where his numbers could be.
An Underappreciated Immortal: Ken Griffey Jr.
March 4th, 2008
By Gary Armida
A 17 year old baseball fan has no idea how great Ken Griffey
Jr. is. This young fan will look at Griffey as the guy who
always gets injured every season. Junior, now 38, is
entering his 20th season of major league baseball. In an era
where the doped up athlete has reigned supreme, Griffey has
put up his Hall of Fame statistics in an honorable and
exciting fashion. While Griffey’s career has been impacted
by injuries during recent years, the argument can be made
that he is the best player of the last 20 years and one of
the greatest of all time. While there are many immortal
baseball players, Griffey’s career path is so closely
aligned to one particular great. Griffey’s career is eerily
similar to legend Mickey Mantle. The Mick is celebrated
while Griffey seems like a mere afterthought. It is a shame
when an immortal does not get his proper due because of his
cheating contemporaries.
Griffey made his debut on April 3, 1989 as a 19 year old
rookie. During the year, Griffey appeared in 128 games and
hit 16 homeruns, driving in 61with a batting line of
.264/.329/.420. Griffey finished third in the rookie of the
year balloting, losing the award to Orioles rookie closer,
Greg Olson. By comparison, Mantle made his debut on April
17, 1951 as a 19 year old rookie. Mantle appeared in 96
games hitting 13 homeruns, driving in 65 with a batting line
of .267/.349/.443. During the next three seasons both Mantle
and Griffey continued their upward development. Neither
cracked the 30 homerun barrier, but their overall numbers
continued to improve. Most importantly, their stature as the
game’s best young player began to build. It was not until
their fifth season that both had their first Hall of Fame
season. At the age of 23, both players hit over 30 homeruns
(Griffey 45, Mantle 37) and both slugged over .600. The next
few seasons saw both players run off some of the best
seasons baseball has ever seen. They were both the most
exciting players in the game. Fans of all teams would stop
when either was at bat to see that next moment. They were
the best players of their generation. As history shows us,
Mantle had a multitude of injuries (both self-inflicted and
a result of the game) that stopped him from compiling even
better statistics. Even with those injuries, Mantle amassed
536 homeruns and 1509 RBI. Griffey, even with many injuries,
has far surpassed those numbers. He enters the 2008 season
just seven homeruns shy of hitting 600 career homeruns.
Now that Griffey’s excellence has been established, let’s
take a closer look at his career. In 1994, a year cut short
by a work stoppage, Griffey hit 40 homeruns in just 111
games. His OPS of 1.076 was his career high. Unfortunately,
Griffey lost most of the 1995 season due to the first injury
of his career. He broke his wrist crashing into the wall.
For the next five seasons, Junior reeled off perhaps the
five most spectacular (and consecutive) seasons any baseball
player has ever accomplished. In those five seasons he hit
49, 56, 56, 48, and 40 homeruns. He drove in 140, 147, 146,
134, and 118 runs. He also scored over 100 runs in each of
those five seasons. In three of those five seasons, he
slugged over .600. In short, one would be hard pressed to
find a player who had a better five year run than Griffey.
Going into his age 31 season, Griffey was on pace to break
Hank Aaron’s homerun record.
The 2001 season saw Griffey get injured early. He only
played in 38 games during the first half of the season.
However, Griffey returned for the second half and continued
to produce at the rate of his previous five seasons. In just
364 at bats, Griffey had 22 homeruns and 65 RBI. Project
that over a full season and he is closing in on another 40
homerun season. The next three seasons were disastrous for
Griffey as he never played in more than 83 games due to a
multitude of injuries. His production really didn’t slow,
but he was unable to stay on the field. The greatest player
of his generation was now the butt of Sportscenter anchor
jokes, when they would muse when Griffey would get hurt
again. For the past three seasons, Griffey has managed over
400 at bats in each season. Consequently, his homerun totals
have been higher (35, 27, 30), but his slugging percentage
has dipped below .500 the past two seasons.
While he is still producing, Griffey has slowed down due to
age. In an era where players seemingly got better as they
aged, it has become rare for this generation of fans to see
a player actually regress a bit due to age. In fact, in
2007, Griffey was moved to right field in order to save the
wear and tear on his body. Because he is slowing down
(albeit slightly), his greatness is lost on the younger
generation. They did not get to see “The Kid” wearing his
hat backwards hitting moon shots during the homerun derby.
They did not get to see him dashing around the bases to
score the game winning run to beat the Yankees in the 1995
ALDS. His incredible, highlight reel catches are lost on
today’s generation. But, the one constant is the prettiest
swing in baseball. Junior still owns that title.
So, Griffey is a legend. He is the greatest player of the
past 20 years (sorry ARod). With just seven more homeruns,
he will join the 600 homerun club. The injuries cost him a
shot at the all-time record, but he is still sixth all-time
in career homeruns. Amazingly, he stood out in an era when
many of the game’s stars were using performance enhancers to
compile their statistics.
This season, Griffey will move up two spots to 18th on the
all-time RBI list. If Sammy Sosa does not play this season,
Griffey will surpass him for fifth all-time on the homerun
list. These are amazing numbers for an amazing player.
Sadly, Griffey has been underappreciated due to the
tremendous statistics of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark
McGwire. The fact that he played the game the right way
makes his accomplishments even more special. Players like
Griffey need to be celebrated. Sadly, those fans who pine
for the “good old days” are the ones that are ignoring our
clean, honest players. Griffey should be a walking legend.
Every place he plays in should be giving him standing
ovations just for showing up. His time in the game is
running short. At best, he has three more seasons (assuming
he comes back to the American League to be a designated
hitter). It is time for baseball to renew its love affair
with the honest, clean Griffey.
An Underappreciated Immortal: Ken Griffey Jr.
March 4th, 2008
By Gary Armida
A 17 year old baseball fan has no idea how great Ken Griffey
Jr. is. This young fan will look at Griffey as the guy who
always gets injured every season. Junior, now 38, is
entering his 20th season of major league baseball. In an era
where the doped up athlete has reigned supreme, Griffey has
put up his Hall of Fame statistics in an honorable and
exciting fashion. While Griffey’s career has been impacted
by injuries during recent years, the argument can be made
that he is the best player of the last 20 years and one of
the greatest of all time. While there are many immortal
baseball players, Griffey’s career path is so closely
aligned to one particular great. Griffey’s career is eerily
similar to legend Mickey Mantle. The Mick is celebrated
while Griffey seems like a mere afterthought. It is a shame
when an immortal does not get his proper due because of his
cheating contemporaries.
Griffey made his debut on April 3, 1989 as a 19 year old
rookie. During the year, Griffey appeared in 128 games and
hit 16 homeruns, driving in 61with a batting line of
.264/.329/.420. Griffey finished third in the rookie of the
year balloting, losing the award to Orioles rookie closer,
Greg Olson. By comparison, Mantle made his debut on April
17, 1951 as a 19 year old rookie. Mantle appeared in 96
games hitting 13 homeruns, driving in 65 with a batting line
of .267/.349/.443. During the next three seasons both Mantle
and Griffey continued their upward development. Neither
cracked the 30 homerun barrier, but their overall numbers
continued to improve. Most importantly, their stature as the
game’s best young player began to build. It was not until
their fifth season that both had their first Hall of Fame
season. At the age of 23, both players hit over 30 homeruns
(Griffey 45, Mantle 37) and both slugged over .600. The next
few seasons saw both players run off some of the best
seasons baseball has ever seen. They were both the most
exciting players in the game. Fans of all teams would stop
when either was at bat to see that next moment. They were
the best players of their generation. As history shows us,
Mantle had a multitude of injuries (both self-inflicted and
a result of the game) that stopped him from compiling even
better statistics. Even with those injuries, Mantle amassed
536 homeruns and 1509 RBI. Griffey, even with many injuries,
has far surpassed those numbers. He enters the 2008 season
just seven homeruns shy of hitting 600 career homeruns.
Now that Griffey’s excellence has been established, let’s
take a closer look at his career. In 1994, a year cut short
by a work stoppage, Griffey hit 40 homeruns in just 111
games. His OPS of 1.076 was his career high. Unfortunately,
Griffey lost most of the 1995 season due to the first injury
of his career. He broke his wrist crashing into the wall.
For the next five seasons, Junior reeled off perhaps the
five most spectacular (and consecutive) seasons any baseball
player has ever accomplished. In those five seasons he hit
49, 56, 56, 48, and 40 homeruns. He drove in 140, 147, 146,
134, and 118 runs. He also scored over 100 runs in each of
those five seasons. In three of those five seasons, he
slugged over .600. In short, one would be hard pressed to
find a player who had a better five year run than Griffey.
Going into his age 31 season, Griffey was on pace to break
Hank Aaron’s homerun record.
The 2001 season saw Griffey get injured early. He only
played in 38 games during the first half of the season.
However, Griffey returned for the second half and continued
to produce at the rate of his previous five seasons. In just
364 at bats, Griffey had 22 homeruns and 65 RBI. Project
that over a full season and he is closing in on another 40
homerun season. The next three seasons were disastrous for
Griffey as he never played in more than 83 games due to a
multitude of injuries. His production really didn’t slow,
but he was unable to stay on the field. The greatest player
of his generation was now the butt of Sportscenter anchor
jokes, when they would muse when Griffey would get hurt
again. For the past three seasons, Griffey has managed over
400 at bats in each season. Consequently, his homerun totals
have been higher (35, 27, 30), but his slugging percentage
has dipped below .500 the past two seasons.
While he is still producing, Griffey has slowed down due to
age. In an era where players seemingly got better as they
aged, it has become rare for this generation of fans to see
a player actually regress a bit due to age. In fact, in
2007, Griffey was moved to right field in order to save the
wear and tear on his body. Because he is slowing down
(albeit slightly), his greatness is lost on the younger
generation. They did not get to see “The Kid” wearing his
hat backwards hitting moon shots during the homerun derby.
They did not get to see him dashing around the bases to
score the game winning run to beat the Yankees in the 1995
ALDS. His incredible, highlight reel catches are lost on
today’s generation. But, the one constant is the prettiest
swing in baseball. Junior still owns that title.
So, Griffey is a legend. He is the greatest player of the
past 20 years (sorry ARod). With just seven more homeruns,
he will join the 600 homerun club. The injuries cost him a
shot at the all-time record, but he is still sixth all-time
in career homeruns. Amazingly, he stood out in an era when
many of the game’s stars were using performance enhancers to
compile their statistics.
This season, Griffey will move up two spots to 18th on the
all-time RBI list. If Sammy Sosa does not play this season,
Griffey will surpass him for fifth all-time on the homerun
list. These are amazing numbers for an amazing player.
Sadly, Griffey has been underappreciated due to the
tremendous statistics of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark
McGwire. The fact that he played the game the right way
makes his accomplishments even more special. Players like
Griffey need to be celebrated. Sadly, those fans who pine
for the “good old days” are the ones that are ignoring our
clean, honest players. Griffey should be a walking legend.
Every place he plays in should be giving him standing
ovations just for showing up. His time in the game is
running short. At best, he has three more seasons (assuming
he comes back to the American League to be a designated
hitter). It is time for baseball to renew its love affair
with the honest, clean Griffey.
