The Kid Retires: Ken Griffey Jr Hangs Up His SpikesAfter Incredible Career

For the first time since 1974 there is no Ken Griffey in baseball.

Ken Griffey Jr . had the sweetest, smoothest swing the game of baseball has ever seen. Leaping catches, a memorable smile, and booming home runs took Seattle by storm. He was named to the All-Decade team before he turned 30 years old. He was named the Player of the 1990s.

He was a blur in center-field, with a stride as graceful as his swing, taking home 10 gold gloves throughout his 22-year career. He was named to 13 All-Star teams, socked 630 homers, collected 2,151 other hits, drove in 1,800-plus runs, and scored over 1,600 times. He was an icon. He was the Mariners. He was one of the best players ever to play.

And now his brilliant career is over, as The Kid decided to retire effective immediately.

He was a role model for so many. He loved putting smiles on kids faces, the same smile he possessed often. He was so clutch. He hit homers on Fathers and Mothers day. He hit back-to-back homers with his dad, Ken Griffey Sr., in 1990. He did it all.

He was also injury-plagued. From 2002-2004, he played in only 206 of 483 games as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. This came after missing 51 games 2001, his first season with the team, and before another three-year span in which he missed 95 games.

Throughout the prime of his career, injures took more than three seasons-worth of games from him. This depletion makes his accomplishments that much more remarkable. He played 14 full seasons, and I am counting his 1994 campaign, in which he hit 40 homers and drove in 92 in only 111 games. He could have been the home run king if he were healthy. Could. If.

Instead of wondering what if, which is certainly difficult not to do, it is important to remember what was: Junior Griffey with his hat backwards, chewing gum, and sporting a smile that could light up a room; the best player of  his generation who affected an entire city, turned people into baseball fans, into Mariners fans and did much more than fill the seats.

He never should have left Seattle for Cincinnati, but he came back and retired with the team he dominated the nineties with, and ended his career in a city that views him as their native son. He is beloved. And The Kid, the first ballot Hall of Famer, the fifth best center-fielder of all-time will be forever.

In light of his abrupt retirement, Griffey’s No. 24 was etched into Safeco Field’s infield before the Mariners took on the Minnesota Twins. And, fitting on this night, Ichiro hit a ball up the middle, just to the right of the honorary number, in the bottom of the 10th inning, and though it was corralled by a sliding Matt Tolbert, Ryan Langerhans sprinted across home-plate for the winning run .

Seattle had lost their previous six extra-inning games. And, prior to Ichiro’s heroics, the last game-winning hit was supplied by none other than Griffey, who delivered a pinch-hit single on May 20 against the Toronto Blue Jays to cap a three-run, ninth inning rally. That was celebrated. His illustrious and ever-so memorable career will be too.

Seventy-five years ago today Babe Ruth retired.

Twenty-three years ago today Griffey was signed as the first overall pick in the MLB Draft by the Mariners.

Reaction to Griffey’s retirement

Former teammate and current Mariner Milton Bradley, who considers Griffey his idol, was interviewed after their win over the Twins and had this to say as part of an emotional interview: “It’s hard to see the ball when you have tears in your eyes.”

Jerry Brewer of The Seattle Times : “Nobody had more fun than The Kid. The halogen-light smile. The backward cap. The cow in Lou Piniella’s office . To baseball in Seattle, he brought recognition, prestige, greatness, expectations, awe, miracles. But most of all, he brought joy, soul-filling joy, smile-wider-than-you-ever-have joy-unabashed, unrelenting joy.”

In an article by ESPN’s Jim Caple titled "Griffey changed baseball in Seattle": “There is going to be a big void that will never be filled,” Seattle designated hitter Mike Sweeney said Wednesday. “You can’t match Ken Griffey Jr. , his charisma on the field, his heart. You can’t replace Ken Griffey Jr. on the field or off the field…I think Milton Bradley put it best when he said, ‘On a day like this it should rain in Seattle.'”

In an article by The Seattle Times’ Larry Stone titled "Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez remember Griffey," Buhner looks back: “He is the most beloved Mariner ever. He dedicated his whole life to the game, and you can ask anyone—there were times he played in a whole different league, a whole different level, from the rest of us.

Martinez: “From the beginning, you could tell right away he was a five-tool player. They don’t come around very often. He was a guy that had a lot of confidence, even as a young player, just the way he carried himself. Plus all the talent. Wow. You could just see if he stayed healthy, he was going to be an amazing player. And he was.”