Ken Griffey Jr. retires

[91raider97bobcat]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5244661

[The_Legend_of_Northwest]

Farewell to the greatest player of the era.

[Orange and Brown]

Thanks for 22 great years of baseball!!! I will always miss "The Kid"

Now my 2 all time favorite players are both retired!

[Orange and Brown]

^^^^^^^I felt the same way when they broke up the Big Red Machine.

And how would you like to have been an NL outfielder in the 60s and had to make the All-Star team against the likes of Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, et al

HOFers all!

There were a lot of great players back then, I bet a lot of guys missed out on the All-Star game because of the generation they played in.

[oldtrojan]

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES JR.

[Orange and Brown]

O & B: and the teams were stronger then because the talent hadnt been diluted due to expansion.

Prior to 1962, the NL was still one 8 team league with no playoffs. In '62 the Astros and Mets were formed, and it's been katie bar the door ever since.

I know there are more kids playing the game now, and more year round at that. But when I see position players struggling to stay above .200 making over a million a year, and starting pitchers with ERAs over five the rule, more than the exception, I cant believe it, especially when you consider that back in the 60s, 300 innings was considered pretty much the norm for the best pitchers, and five man rotations were unheard of. Heck, the A's experimented with a 3 man rotation for awhile.

The playing surfaces are better. There are no doubleheaders unless make up games. Many veterans sit out day games after night games. A quality start is defined as 6 innings allowing 3 or fewer runs, and bullpens have become specialists with lefty-rightie combos, long relief. set up men, and closers. And official scorers are a joke; not knowing a hit from an error.

What the heck is the game coming to?

I think the last round of expansion diluted the pitching so much that it hurt the game badly. We live in an era where everyone is expected to hit .300 but no one can come close to hitting as good as Ted Williams, Stan musel, Mays, or Maris.

Managers Coddle there starters, They put them on pitch counts and limit there innings. Some of the best pitchers in the history of the game use to pitch double headers...4 man rotations would save teams so much money.

There are teams these days that basically work 6 man rotations. you have your starting 5 then a spot starter or 2 who allow one of the 5 man rotation guys to skip a start.
The owners need put in there place and the players need to be put in there place!
To see a guy not hustle because it is a routine play, or not to dive because it is only May, and they are afraid of getting hurt. For that matter guys go on the D.L. for the sissiest crap.

[Tigercannon71]

If it want for his Reds years he ould probably been the all time HR leader. I remember as a kid opening up a pack of upper Deck ball cards to find a Grffey rookie card meand all my friends freaked out bcause one of us got one. Griffey was a great one sad to see him gone.

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

Injuries really hurt him so much.
Great player!!!

[mister b]

JR is a class act. Call him Mr. Clean because he was pure talent. Our era's "The Natural".

[NYBuckeye96]

Wow, its hard to believe he is retiring. When I was a kid, he was the great young star of baseball. Now his body is too old to play the game. He was a great player. I was excited when Cincy signed him away from Seattle, but he never was the same player in Cincy that he had been in Seattle.

[mister b]

gahs4ever...

It galls people like Steinbrenner who pays the luxury tax every year because teams do not spend the tax money on players to improve their clubs, as was the intent of the tax. Former Pirates owner, Kevin McClatchy, went on record and said that he was spending the money Pittsburgh received via the tax on paying down their debt. To date, Pittsburgh has not spent money on players, either through free agents or keeping their All-Stars.

The situation in Cincy only proves that 1 man can not bring you a title, even though all the talking heads in baseball at the time said that Griffey would bring a title to the Queen City.

[Orange and Brown]

It's all in the past now guys!! The Reds are spending money (in the right places) and it is paying off!

[boogerred]

Junior would have hit 1000 homers if he had taken steroids and stayed healthy.