Ken Griffey Jr. is retiring

[WSB]

Always wanted to start one of these topics.

I know his heyday’s past but man, the memories.

We got here in 1991 and got to see some of the playoffs in 1995 so we were here for the best of it.

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[clark5080]

Sad to see it happen but glad for all the good memories

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[johnnyblegs]

Had to happen sometime. Glad he’s finishing as a Mariner.

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Remember his first plate appearance? What about the candy bar named after him? I also remember listening to Niehaus as he called the Griffey Jr & Sr back to back homers. I will never forget the 1995 playoffs, the year that he saved baseball in Seattle, sitting up in the nosebleeds, the whole Kingdome chanting ED….GAR!…man the dome got LOUD. Watching Edgar drive home Griffey for the win. The pile on home plate. Mayhem in the stands. Laughing goodbye to the Yankees as they boarded the bus to the airport. That was great baseball. Hope to watch that kind of ball in Seattle again, but we’ll never have another ballplayer in Seattle like Griffey.

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Part of my childhood is retiring with The Kid. Thanks for the memories.

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[displacedcoastie]

Quote “Laughing goodbye to the Yankees as they boarded the bus”…now I am no Yankees fan but the Mariners have been to the playoffs 5 times in 33 years…the Yankees have 27 world championships…whos laughing at who…Griffey or no Griffey you guys are the consistantly the worst team in baseball…enjoy your “memories”

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[JEM]

At least we are real fans, here in good times and bad. Thanks for crapping on our lovefest coastie

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[displacedcoastie]

Really Jem? You guys are there for your team in good times and bad? I went to a game this Mother’s Day….beautiful day..65 and sunny…and the stadium was half full, if that. So you might want to rethink what team support means.

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[austin]

Yeah, team support means pissing in other people’s cheerios on a neighborhood forum for absolutely no reason. Duh.

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[displacedcoastie]

So pissing in someone’s cheerios is bringing up facts? Something you Seattle fans surely lack in all your sports. Your teams are just as passive aggresive as your city. Sorry for ruining your “neighborhood forum”. I will let you get back to talking about proper bus etiquette and supporting local produce. I just thought someone might want to have a good sports discussion.

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[JEM]

Yeah, a discussion about the retirment of a much loved player.

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[displacedcoastie]

Which much loved player is that? The one who loved Seattle so much he took all that money to go to Cincinnati? Or the one who could have retired during the offseason to save his teamates from the circus that was this last couple of months?

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[johnnyblegs]

Geez, sorry for mentioning “laughing goodbye to the Yankees” but you have to understand coastie – growing up with the Mariners was painful because they had a lot of great players that deserved better – Harold Reynolds, Omar Vizquel. Watching them get beat the majority of the time was painful. Watching them come from 13 games back to win the division was awesome. Watching them beat the mighty Yankees who have won many championships was precious and joyous after all those years because we love our Mariners. Some people just jump on the wagon when they are winning but the die hards stick it through the tough times as well. There may not be enough the fill a stadium every game but it doesn’t mean Seattle doesn’t love the team.

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[dawsonct]

“Consistently the worst team in baseball!?!” Have you ever heard of the Pittsburgh Pirates? Kansas City Royals? When was the last time the Orioles were any good?

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You are correct, the Yankmees have used baseballs draconian economic structure to win a bunch of championships, but that doesn’t preclude enjoying beating them in the playoffs. What SHOULD we have done at that point, gone out to the bus and tell the Yanks to not hang their heads, that they STILL belong to the most storied franchise in American sports history?

No! Forget that. We beat them; we got to gloat. Suggesting our joy was illegitimate simply because the Yanks have had more success in their 70+ more years in the ML’s is ridiculous.

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And, as far as the apocryphal Seattle sports fan goes, ask everyone you know where they were born/grew up. Most people who live in Seattle are from some other place. They didn’t grow up rooting for the Mariners, or the Seahawks, or the Sonics or Sounders. Most sports fans in this area are rooting for their second favorite teams. We are a region of recent immigrants (re: yourself, I would guess), and they have brought with them their personal prejudices, about the Northwest, Seattle, and Seattleites. Making sweeping generalizations about Northwesterners is a sure sign of ignorance.

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[displacedcoastie]

Alright DawsonsCreek…first all three of those franchises you mentioned have won a world series.

As for you Yankees buying their rings statement, if money was such an issue then why have there been nine differnet world series champs in the last eleven years? What was the payroll of the Florida Marlins when they won it? Twice!

Here is where you really get me. You say most fans in this area a rooting for their second favorite teams? Really!!! I am from Philly…you ask anyone in Philadelphia, New York, Boston who their second favorite team is. You will get booed out of the bar (or bah if your in Beantown). We dont have them, they dont exist. If they do then they arent true fans of any team.

And I am not an immigrant, I am a forced participant in this grey mundane world called the Northwest, and I dream of the day I am released back to the land of winners and true heart.

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[dawsonct]

Right on, JB.

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Any Seattle baseball fan who stuck with their team through the 80’s and early 90’s, when we were constantly told we were the worst fans in the game because we didn’t support in great numbers a team that was run solely for the bottom line. Every year was going to be the last year in Seattle, every good young player we developed was summarily dismissed for crap as soon as they became arbitration eligible. ’95 really WAS the final straw; if they hadn’t pulled out their miracle, the team almost certainly would have been in Tampa for the ’96 season.

Disparaging Seattle baseball fans completely ignores the history of the team, and their early treatment of their fans.

Commenting on Seattle baseball fans without understanding the history of baseball in Seattle and apparently without any clue of what we went through is asinine.

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Ken Griffey, Jr. is the only reason we still have MLB in Seattle.

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[dawsonct]

Need help packing?

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[dawsonct]

Apparently you don’t understand the concept of Seattle being a city of immigrants. Come back in twenty years or so, when a couple of generations will have grown up with a team that wasn’t threatening to leave every off-season.

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Interesting reference to the TV show; you don’t come across as a teenage girl, but that would explain your ignorance as far as Seattle sports goes.

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[displacedcoastie]

First off…Dawson’s Creek had some hot tail running around in it…buts thats neither here nor there…Seattle fans blaming ownership for their lack of support seems like a crackhead blaming the dealer for their habit. You guys ran the Sonics out, or maybe as you will say, let the ownership take them out. The NHL wont come near the city, and to use your point, the only reason the mariners are here is cause you guys got one of the best players of all time. I have overheard many conversations on the bus about what a shame it was for the city to build new stadiums when there are more pressing issues. Face it..you city is great for the earth, and a really responsible citizen. Buts as sports fans..you blow. Now as your team decends back to obscurity, we shall see how long the mariners stay. I hear NY is looking for a third team.

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[Andy]

You are a mean-spirited little person, Coastie. I am a transplant here in Seattle, too, and have little love for the place. As mentioned by Dawsonct, Seattle teams are my second favorites, sometimes even 3rd. The fact remains, however, that as a sports fan I respect tradition and the importance that iconic sports figures have to the people who love them.

Ken Griffey Jr. deserves to be honored and praised, and even if for just the short duration of a friendly blog forum, he deserves to have it done without the derision of trolling pecksniffs like you.

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[displacedcoastie]

PS….I would love some help packing…my garage is full of championship memorabilia from Philly sports teams…cant carry it all…I’ll pay you a dollar for each mariners world series wins….

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[displacedcoastie]

Hey ANDY..if you read my posts I said nothing about Jr. I enjoyed watching him as a kid and used to try and replicate his swing in little league….I am talking of the city as a whole…and whats with the name calling kid? Dont get so personal my man….and why stop at three favorite teams? Why not just like every team ever…then you will always win.

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[Andy]

I mention Jr, because you are ruining, intentionally, the attempt these people are making at enjoying the memories and history that he has helped them experience. Disparaging their tribute to him doesn’t require an actual mention of him, you’ve proven that handily.

If you can’t handle a little name-calling, don’t come trolling about with the express purpose of stomping peoples’ good intentions. Especially considering that the person who started this pleasantly and respectfully motivated thread is the blog owner.

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[displacedcoastie]

WHOOOAAA the blog owner? Well then I retract all statements and bow down while exiting the room……

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[johnnyblegs]

– Sorry for ruining your “neighborhood forum”. I will let you get back to talking about proper bus etiquette and supporting local produce. I just thought someone might want to have a good sports discussion. –

coastie…why the quotes? the WSB is the best neighborhood blog in the state. Wanting to have a good “sports discussion”? Really? Seems like you just want to bash the people of Seattle and their sports teams. If you want to have a real discussion you need to grow up and look over your posts on this thread. You’re coming across as a jerk.

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[dawsonct]

You’re from Philly!? I understand the bitterness now. I would be, too, if I grew up in the East Coast’s uh, what, fourth, fifth city, watching the success of every OTHER major metro area but your own, whether in sports or culture or politics.

Sure, it had it’s place in the history of the country, but that is long since past.

I’m not sure if I have ever met a Philadelphian who isn’t bitter; even the ones who have figured out they aren’t permanently chained to their rotting corpse of a metropolis. Must be a sucky life. Better you than me.

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At least Seattleites (the FEW real ones that there are) are secure enough that they don’t require validation from the accomplishments of a bunch of mercenary athletes to boost their self-esteem.

Sports entertainment has it’s place and importance in life, just not as much as give it.

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[johnnyblegs]

A great clip of an interview back in the 80s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrSqgIg8A3c&feature=player_embedded

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