I read the story about Ken Griffey Jr. paying off a debt in pennies to teammate Josh Fogg (see link below), and could only shake my head.
I'm sure if it'd been Barry Bonds and not Griffey Jr., the home run king would have been scrutinized to death. But with Griffey, he gets a free pass.
And the Reds' outfielder certainly got a free pass earlier this week too, when he dropped a fly ball and just laughed it off. Had it been Bonds, well, you know...
And let me get this straight: Bonds hit 28 homers in 340 at-bats in 2007, while batting .276. And yet the ex-Giants slugger was a bum. Griffey bashed out 30 dingers in almost 200 more at-bats (528, to be exact) with a .277 average, and "The Kid" was embraced.
Griffey is off to a slow start in 2008, batting only .250 with four homers, and his Reds stink (last place in the Central at 18-23). Yet Griffey is still looked upon as an icon.
So again, let me get this straight. My organization's not doing well, and I'm clowning around trying to make a "fun" atmosphere at work despite the fact I'm not doing my job. I'd be fired in a second. Of course, the media and fans are giving Griffey a free pass for his—and his team's—failures.
Of course, people will look at Griffey and say "Oh, man, great prank! Great teammate!" If it were Bonds, people would be like, "Jerk! Bad teammate. Loser!" This makes no sense to me.
Legend has it that newcomer Kirk Gibson lectured his Dodgers teammates in spring training in 1988 for their childish pranks, and led the team to its unlikely world championship later that year. Gibson's leadership and home run heroics made the difference for a Los Angeles club that wasn't expected to contend.
With Griffey, who has never been a winner, the Cincinnati Reds are a disappointment and will never make it to the promised land. I guess the penny prank is as good as it gets in Cincy.
Well, Griffey fans, go root for a non-winner. At least Bonds and Gibson made it to the World Series. Griffey's glory for the 2008 season will be his penny joke and his declining numbers and defense.
I just have to wonder though, was this debt gambling related? One can only guess. Heck, even Charles Barkley was in the news this week for gambling debts...so anything is possible.
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4 months ago
Your knowledge of Griffey and Bonds is obviously limited. You think Bonds was disliked and criticized because of his numbers? Nobody said he wasn't valuable as a player...he was a jerk to the media, a jerk to his fans, turned his former best friend into his enemy, and cheated by using STEROIDS! Griffey on the other hand is an icon on and off the baseball field...he treats everybody with respect, including the game. He is certainly not what he used to be in terms of on field abilities, but try to find one major league ball player who doesn't like him. Of all the big home run hitters of this era, Griffey is one of the few to never be linked to steroids. Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Palmeiro, Conseco...all linked to steroids. As for the prank with the pennies? Lighten up man. Also, don't call Bonds the home run king...he cheated and doesn't deserve that title.
4 months ago
Did somebody not get a cookie?
The real issue is the manner in which Griffey and Bonds each approached the game. Bonds resorted to lying and cheating, and he proved he could be a real jerk along the way. Griffey, as far as we know, has played the game clean and played it right. He likes to have fun, and can you really blame him for that? The fact that he is embraced for hitting 30 homers is because most fans feel for him, having lost so many seasons to injury. They want to see him emerge from the shell of his former self into some semblance of that former greatness, and so it is something to get excited about when he gets that sweet swing going. When Bonds musters 28 HR we just want to identify that that's what he can do off the juice and his game the last 7 years has been a complete farce in many fans' minds.
Both were amazing in the '90's, but they have taken paths in the last decade that need to be viewed in more respects than the stat sheet alone.
4 months ago
KEN GRIFFEY JR WHEN HE WAS HEALTHY WAS THE BEST BASEBALL PLAYER THE GAME HAS EVER SEEN, PERIOD. 597 HR'S, 10 GOLD GLOVES, 13 ALL STAR APPEARENCES, 7 SILVER SLUGGERS, AL MVP, ALL STAR MVP, YOUNGEST PLAYER ON THE ALL CENTURY TEAM. HE'S DONE ALL THAT AND A LOT MORE IN 570 LESS GAMES THAN BONDS AND OH YEAH HE DIDNT CHEAT LIKE BONDS, HE PLAYED THE GAME THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED. PUT IT THIS WAY, GRIFFEY HAS BEEN INJURED 6 OUT OF THE LAST 8 SEASONS AND WILL STILL MAKE IT TO THE HOF BEFORE BONDS. JUST IMAGINE IF GRIFFEY HAD STAYED HEALTHY YOUR ARGUMENT WOULD SOOUND EVEN DUMBER.
4 months ago
I agree with much of what has already been said. Comparing Bonds and Griffey is like comparing Dick Cheney and the Dalai Lama. They approach the game in a completely different fashion. Griffey with honor, Bonds with selfishness. I live in Seattle and would love to have Griffey back on the Mariners. Yes, we could use anybody that can hit a baseball, but more so because Griffey was my hero growing up. There are thousands of people who feel the same in the Northwest. We'd be happy to have him back for just one more summer of Griffey baseball.
4 months ago
Griffey is done. He hit 23 home runs before the All-Star break last year, then hit just 7 the rest of the way. And he's off to another brutal start this season.
4 months ago
The ultimate irony is that the Mariners were/are supposedly interested in re-acquiring Griffey to add some pop in their lineup... but again, Griffey is done - check out his stats, and will he really help out in a pitcher friendly park?
Of course, this is a publicity stunt to rip Mariners' fans off, getting them to go out to the park.
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