Sometimes, you’re prepared to hear news like this – that Ken Griffey Jr. has decided to retire – and yet it’s stunning when it finally happens.
Within the past hour, the Mariners huddled in the outfield around manager Don Wakamatsu, who told them that Griffey has decided to retire. A few minutes later, Wakamatsu – and then team CEO Howard Lincoln, president Chuck Armstrong and GM Jack Zduriencik – broke the news to reporters on the field at Safeco Field.
Griffey, whose career began in 1989 when he was a 19-year-old phenom, decided today to retire.
“I have the utmost respect for Ken and what he’s done over his career, and more importantly over the last year and couple of months for us,” Wakamatsu said. “As a teammate, as a friend and what he’s done to bring baseball back to the city of Seattle.”
Griffey is not at the ballpark and, according to the Mariners, won’t be. The Mariners plan some kind of recognition before tonight’s game.
Griffey did release a statement. Here it is:
“I’ve come to a decision today to retire from Major League Baseball as an active player.
“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 have played Major League Baseball for so long and thankful for all of the friendships I have made, while also being proud of my accomplishments.
“I’d like to thank my family for all of the sacrifices they have made all of these years for me. I’d like to thank the Seattle Mariners organization for allowing me to finish my playing career where it started. I look forward to a continued, meaningful relationship with them for many years to come.
“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. I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates, and their success as team is what the ultimate goal should be.
“My hope is that my teammates can focus on baseball and win a championship for themselves and for the great fans of Seattle, who so very much deserve one. Thanks to all of you for welcoming me back, and thanks again to everyone over the years who has played a part in the success of my career.”
We’ve prepared ourselves for this news ever since Griffey’s teammates carried him off the field after the final game last year. Frankly, that should have been the way it ended, in celebration.
I haven’t met many athletes who realized when the end should be. Griffey, at least publically, always believed he would climb out of his hitting problems and be a productive presence to the Mariners’ struggling offense.
Instead, what happened this year is what a lot of people feared, that Griffey wouldn’t start hitting again or display bat speed that proved there was life left in his career. Instead, he rarely drove a ball deep and struggled to maintain a batting average of even .200. Within the past three weeks, Griffey’s playing time dwindled and he became little more than a bench player and clubhouse presence.
In the midst of his struggles this season, Griffey became the focus of a story by the Tacoma News Tribune that reported his career could end soon. A portion of that story, attributed to two unnamed players, said Griffey was napping during a game May 8. The napping story gained national attention and has since died down. What never changed was Griffey’s slim playing time and his inability to remain a productive hitter.
It became a sad way to see a career end because so many people yearned to see the Griffey of the 1990s again. What we do have are the memories. Those will never erode.
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