You know when an icon passes on and within minutes there is already a fully fleshed out re-cap of that person’s life and times?
“I’ve come to a decision today to retire from Major League Baseball as an active player,” the 40 year-old Griffey said in a statement released by the Mariners shortly before tonight’s game against the Twins. “This has been on my mind recently, but it’s not an easy decision to come by. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to play Major League Baseball for so long.”
Fifth on the all-time home run list with 630 career bombs, “The Kid” was regarded as one of the game’s premier players throughout the 1990s, nabbing ten straight Gold Gloves while playing with Seattle and being elected to play in eleven straight All-Star Games.
But what can be said about the first member of baseball’s 2016 Hall of Fame class that hasn’t already been written a thousand times over?
We already know about the spectacular catches, the picture perfect swing and that ear-to-ear smile, so until something else gets written…please enjoy the Griffey-cetric pieces that The Hall of Very Good has provided over the last couple of seasons.
June 10, 2008: Griffey finally hits his 600th career home run. February 24, 2009: Griffey re-joins Mariners after nearly a decade away.
Junior leaves the game with a .284 career batting average, 630 home runs and 1836 RBI. He was named the American League Most Valuable Player in 1997 and finished in the top five in voting four other years.
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