You Must Be KIDding Me! The Greatest Player Of an Era

  You know what seperates Hollywood from real life...the story doesnt always end the way it should. The happy ending is easy to write but impossible to create. Which is why moments like Kirk Gibson's Walk-off Homerun will stand the test of time. One single feat forever immortalized in time never to be repeated or duplicated. The story of Ken Griffey Jr. may very well go down in history as one of the saddest in all of baseball as far as keeping the sanctity of the sport intact. To put into words the career of Ken Griffey, "The Kid" is almost impossible and at the end of this I will still feel as though I didn't do the legend justice.

  Simply put Ken Griffey is the greatest natural hitter of his time(arguably all-time). Had he played the career that seemed destined for him the Home Run King Hank Aaron's record could have been thrashed and not merely broken. In a black and white world that would have defined the world of Baseball in Comic Book form Ken Griffey is everything that is right and good about baseball in the same way that Cal Ripken or Jackie Robinson is. They love the game and play it the way it was meant to be played.

  Ken Griffey was able reach 411 HR's in his first 11 seasons. Barry Bonds in 11 seasons made 374, Mark Mcguire had 387, Sammy Sosa had 390, Hank Aaron in that span made 398, Willie Mays made 364, and the Babe only had 309. Every contemporary player listed that played and put up numbers that were favorable to his have all been linked to performing enhancing drugs that helped them in some cases eventually surpass Ken Griffey. People were looking for someone who could save the sport as Baseball began declining in popularity and fans began looking for something special and believed they found it in the home run chase with Mcquire and Sosa. The same race that saved the sport is now the same race that is held in infamy and has left a permanent black eye on the sport. Barry Bond's assault on the All-Time HR record Also was marveled at with a mystery as how someone who had gotten older could get so much better than he ever was in his prime.

  People wanted something special and to every one who asked that question all I can say is that you missed it. The 10-time gold glove winner(tied for most all time for any outfielder). A 13 time All-Star, 7 time Silver Slugger, and countless HR derby Champion put on the performance of a lifetime and did so with his own natural god given talent. The thing that makes Griffey great is that through all this who can put a black eye on him? Who can question any of his accomplishments? The man has no shame and when he walks away he can do it under his own accord and when he gets inducted into the HOF there will be no asterisks next to his records...no whispers of well how did he post those numbers. The real talk will be what if he had what if he did do steroids? What kind of numbers could he have posted? However if he had done that well he wouldn't have been Ken Griffey One of the Best Ever. The real question they should ask themselves is if Ken Griffey did not use steroids in a time when he could have because they were not against MLB regulation....why didn't he? Why would he not make himself even better. Maybe he already knew something that Barry and Mark didnt know. He wasnt trying to beat them he wanted to beat the only two people worthy of being in this conversation with him in Hank and The Babe by playing the game the same way they did...the same way his father did.

In a Hollywood movie The Kid would have still found a way to save every Record broken by a player whose legacy is now tarnished. In a Hollywood movie he would have worn a cape and played at a level people only dreamed of but this is real life its not a movie. Ken Griffey may very well still save the game though. In every sport there are cheaters who take away from the game that convince you to leave it behind but then there are also those who are truly special who have a glow about them that just remind you of why you liked it the game in the first place and keep you tuned in for a couple more minutes. Ken Griffey is that type of player at least to me.