Ken Griffey Jr: Seattle's Most Heralded Sports Legend Retires With Great Legacy

21 years ago, on April 3, 1989, the Mariners' touted rookie, Ken Griffey Jr., made his playing debut. In his first at bat, Junior doubled off of Oakland's Dave Stewart for the first of 2,781 hits in a legendary Hall of Fame career.

Now, on June 2, 2010, Junior has finally announced retirement. At the time, he was batting .184 through 33 games played.

Despite the recent struggles, it is undoubtable that Ken Griffey Junior is the greatest Mariner of all time as well as the savior of baseball in the northwest. He always made things look easy, from his sweet swing to his graceful play in the outfield.

During the 90's, Junior was the best and most exciting baseball player in the big leagues. When the All-Century Team was announced, Junior was included as the team's youngest member.

But it is also plausible that Ken Griffey Junior's biggest impact on baseball did not lie in statistics and awards.

He did have 630 homers and 1836 RBI, ranking fifth and 14th in those respective categories. But most importantly, Junior was a steroid-free player during a time when all the best power-hitters juiced.

The fact that Junior was "clean" enhances his already amazing legacy.

It's true that he never went to the World Series and it's true that he didn't resurrect the Cincinnati Reds. However, Junior played with integrity and all-out effort, something that many of today's players lack.

It's been said that Cal Ripken Jr. carried the game of baseball past the strike with his wonderful integrity.

Over the past 21 years, the same could be said of Griffey.

Though he's not a headline figure anymore, Junior has done well as a role model. Even when players like McGwire, A-Rod, Palmeiro, and Manny admitted to drug use, we could retain hope in America's pastime because Griffey, the greatest of them all, was clean.

As a Seattle native, I am very grateful that Ken Griffey Jr., was able to come back where his career had started. He is the biggest sports figure the city has ever known without a doubt. Ken Griffey Jr., is one of the reasons why people like me can have pride in Seattle sports.

Members of national media declare that Griffey's decision to leave was a good one. He wasn't being productive and therefore was not necessary to the team.

To me, this is a travesty. If anything, Seattle owed it to Griffey to keep him for the entirety of a subpar season. It's the least they could do considering how much Junior did for the franchise.

It's unfortunate that Griffey's best years came before the prime years of internet. His last 40-homer season came 10 years ago in 2000. Many of today's young fans had no chance to see him at his best. Instead they just see Junior as some old has-been.

For those of us who are old enough to remember, we should pay tribute to Junior by recalling him at his very best.

We should remember the Junior who homered in eight straight games and hit the B&O Warehouse on the fly.

We should remember the Junior who slid into home in the 1995 ALDS with a grin of ecstasy across his face.

Junior always emitted ebullience and joy with his play, even in the twilight of his career. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that all good things come to an end, particularly in sports. It's hard to believe that the Kid grew up and is now 40 years old and ready to retire.

But after 630 long balls and 22 seasons under his belt, Junior deserved every right to end his career on his own terms.

Junior didn't completely wear out his welcome and his retirement, just like everything else he did in his career, was done the right way.