Ken Griffey Jr: Give Credit Where Credit's Due

It is no secret that being flamboyant, outspoken, or controversial will make you the center of attention in the media. It is the public equivalent of nice guys finishing last. That being said just by being associated wth this site I am as guilty as the next person. Everyday I watch, listen, or read every sports media outlet like a high school girl looking for the latest gossip and dirt. I started thinking about that a lot today which led me to think of who my “favorite” baseball player is. The kind of question that was so simple when I was a kid. Now I have a hundred different explanations and reasons for my choices, most of which ends going over some many variables as to make it difficult to widdle a list down to 10 or even 20. These days I’ve realized that my soap box stance of keeping the sanctity of the game has seemed hypocritical at times while other times it simply was. Consider the following beliefs or statements that I have made whether on this site or during debates off the record:
• I believe in Tradition of Baseball, that some things are sacred and that it is the closest thing to pure sport that you can get.
• I watch the AL, like the DH, and think that a great offense is the best defense
• (It is no secret that I am a Cleveland Sports Fan) I would want to play for my home team at whatever cost
• It is not a question of whether I would sell out or not it is just a matter of when.

I can go on and on and I am not a great prophet of baseball, or of keeping it pure. I know that if I played I would not be so humble nor would I be winning any morality contests. I picture myself as Willy May Hays always swinging for the fences, and trust me it would take someone like Lou Brown to keep me in check. That being said I think that it is time to give credit where credit is due. I give credit to those to who keep the ideals alive, and have eluded being hypocritical in their “love for the game”.

This takes me back to my previous statement about it being so much easier to pick my favorite player when I was a kid. I had two posters on my wall: Kenny Lofton and Ken Griffrey Jr. Growing up I had a million arguments with my pops over who was the best modern era baseball player of all time: Bonds or Griffey. He wrote it off as me being young, but maybe it was because I was not jaded yet. I saw the game as a game, and I recognized who was the best, who played the hardest, and who had all of the qualities that I wanted to have. Lets run down some reasons as to why Griffey always has and always will be my favorite player and my choice in a debate for the best of all time:

First Off What Griffey Has Accomplished on Paper (Currently in 19th Season):
Career: .289, 597 HR (6th all Time, 1st Among Active Players), 2593 H, 1719 RBIS, 1561 R.
Gold Gloves: 10
All Star: 13
MVP: 1

What Could Have Been:
Taking away the 38 games he has played so far in 2008 he has averaged nearly 132 games a year in his 18 years. This includes 95’ where he played in only 72 games, 94 and 01 he only played in 111, and 02-04 co

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