Ken Griffey Jr. Shouldn't Ride Out Quietly

Volume 72, Issue 19.

When that Sports Illustrated cover hit newsstands across America on May 7, 1990, baseball changed. A lanky and wonderfully elegant 20-year-old with "MARINERS" printed across his chest in big bold letters adorned the magazine sporting retro-Nike spikes and a gaze toward the heavens, inevitably following one of his legendary moon shots.

“The Natural,” the cover read.

That was our first impression of Ken Griffey Jr. We knew he was the first pick of the 1987 draft, the guy who debuted in ’89 and played 127 games for the Seattle Mariners as a teenager. But we didn’t know him.

Who posts an .847 OPS and makes an All-Star roster at age 20? Who strikes out only 81 times in 666 plate appearances just three years out of high school? Who gets to the big leagues fast enough to play with his dad?

Twenty-two breathtaking seasons later, we can say we know exactly who Ken Griffey Jr. is. He is one of the most iconic players to ever live. He is, for my dollar, the Player of the Decade for the ‘90s (A-Rod didn’t debut until ’94, or else he’d have a say).

And he will forever be known as the golden boy of the most sullied and self-serving era baseball has ever seen.

It’s almost fitting that Junior called it quits Wednesday, not even showing up at Safeco Field to hold a press conference but rather simply releasing a statement telling the masses “The Kid” would no longer be spending his summer nights running around ballparks.

“While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction,” Griffey said.

And yet this retirement is being overshadowed by the other big sports stories of the day.

We have the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics on the eve of what may be the best NBA Finals in more than a decade. We have news about LeBron James swirling as he sat down with Larry King this week to discuss his impending free agency this summer. And we have Armando Galarraga being robbed of a perfect game in Detroit on a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce, with the “we need more replay in baseball!” storm immediately brewing.

It’s fitting because Griffey spent a chunk of his career playing in the shadows of the game’s steroid-using sluggers and didn’t cry for attention.

Sure, we will always remember Griffey's smooth flair and backwards hat during the home run derby, but it never came off as a need for the spotlight. Griffey just was the spotlight because he was so breathtakingly talented.

Griffey will walk into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, and I would like to see the voters who deem he isn’t worthy the first time around. There will be someone who picks an arbitrary milestone that Griffey didn’t reach, say 3,000 hits, and use that as an excuse for not making him a unanimous selection.

Whatever.

Griffey retires with 2,781 hits, 630 homers, 10 Gold Gloves and enough All-Star appearances to last three careers. And, to put this in perspective, this is a guy who could have had even greater numbers had his body not been decimated by injuries during his eight years in Cincinnati.

We are left wondering what could have been had Griffey not spent 2001-2006 in doctors’ offices, yet he still has 630 bombs.

The only disappointment of Griffey’s career is that he never had the opportunity to play in a World Series. And yet he still maintains that winning is the most important part of the game.

“My continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates, and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be,” Griffey said in his statement.

Griffey ranks fifth on the all-time home run list, but you could consider him fourth behind Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays since Barry Bonds’ 762 career homers float away amidst the steroid allegations. Even when Alex Rodriguez, currently seventh on the list and 40 homers away from Griffey, passes the Kid, A-Rod will be less revered than Junior because of the former's positive test and admission to using steroids while playing for the Texas Rangers.

Griffey’s career doesn’t need to be justified by the shortcomings of his peers, but the era in which he played happens to be a major theme of his story. If Griffey would have had healthy seasons with the Reds, I think he would be the outright career home run leader, and what a story that would have been.

But injuries happen and mold careers.

The Seattle organization is undoubtedly planning something for Griffey’s departure since he defines that city as much as the persistent rain. But we should take the time to celebrate this career in the midst of all other the sporting news because the player earned it, and the man deserves it.

There are too many signature-Griffey moments to cherry pick only one of them. From the Spiderman-esque wall-climbing catches to the sweetest swing you ever saw, it was a lifetime of surreal moments.

But as Griffey goes home to vacation and spend time with his family, my mind will always drift back to the fall of ’95. The Seattle Mainers were locked in the 11^th inning of Game Five of the ALDS against the New York Yankees. This was a year before the Yankees officially began their “dynasty,” but what followed officially put baseball in the forefront of the Seattle sporting world.

With Griffey on first, Joey Cora on third and the Mariners down by one, Edgar Martinez smoked a double down the left field line. Cora walked home to tie the game but, Griffey was steamrolling around the bases with the game-winning run.

The calls are legendary.

Brent Musburger: “Line drive, we are tied! Griffey is coming around, in the corner is Bernie [Williams], he’s going to try and score, here’s the division championship, Mariners win it, Mariners win it!”

Legendary Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus: “Here is Junior to third base, they’re gonna wave him in, the throw to the plate will be late! The Mariners are going to play for the American League Championship, I don’t believe it!”

There was Griffey dramatically sliding into home plate to beat New York and flashing his customary grin at the bottom of the ensuing dog pile, with a young Alex Rodriguez draped around the hero.

Seattle found its baseball pulse that night.

The Kid delivered.

Follow Teddy Mitrosilis on Twitter . You can reach him at [e-mail].