New Poll: 30% Of Yankees Fans Know Nothing About Baseball

During the top of the 6th inning, the YES Network revealed the results of their nightly text poll which asked if viewers thought Ken Griffey Jr. would be a first ballot Hall of Famer or not.

It's a really stupid question, right? I mean, he is one of the guys that gets named when you talk about players who people think almost definitely didn't take performance enhancing drugs, probably the most iconic player of his era, played 22 seasons in the Bigs, made the All-Star team in 13 of them, has 630 home runs, won the 1997 AL MVP, has five more top 5 finishes and won 10 straight Gold Gloves while playing a premium defensive position. He has a better chance of becoming the first unanimus HoF inductee in the history of the game than not getting in on the first ballot.

Uh...

Michael Kay and Al Leiter took the results of the vote to task on air, so I'm not exactly breaking new ground here, but I can certainly use more vulgarity than they did.

Seriously, what the fuck? We think HoF voters are clueless, but if the vote was conducted among people who responded to a YES Network text poll, they would have made him wait an entire year (at the least) to get in because... um... they are fucking clueless?

I think there are a few possibilities here:

• People honestly have no concept of what it takes to get into the HoF and/or Ken Griffey's career because 14 year old kids are the only ones who respond to text polls and they weren't mentally conscious when Griffey was in his prime.
  
  
• It's a small sample size and, as we've delved into before, that sample is badly skewed.
  
  
• They are stupid. No one has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.
  
  
• The respondents are only Yankee fans, as opposed to baseball fans. But even still, if the only time you watched Griffey was when he played the Yankees and listened to the broadcast, there's a good chance that one of the announcers - amid the praise the were lavishing upon him over the clip of the home run he stole from Jesse Barfield - specifically referred to him as a "first ballot Hall of Famer".
  
  
• They just pressed the wrong button.
  
  
• Voters are confusing the term "first ballot" with "unanimous". Maybe people have just enough knowledge about the game to know that no one has ever gotten all the vote in their first year of eligibility but don't know the term or aren't paying close enough attention to the question.

It's probably a combination of all of these and some other things that I couldn't think of but I'm leaning towards the last one. One way or another, the results of the voting either illustrate the stupidity of the question or of the sample. Or both.

Game 76: Nearly Lost You

The Yankees return home for the first time since Father's Day, opening a six game homestand with a three game set against the Seattle Mariners. The M's were the darlings of the off-season, unloading the onerous contracts of Carlos Silva and Kenji Johjima, signing spark plug Chone Figgins away from their division rivals, and making a series of lesser low risk, high reward moves. But far and away, the biggest coup for GM Jack Zduriencik was sending a package of prospects to Philly for Cliff Lee.

Everything seemingly has gone wrong for the M's since then. Franchise legend Ken Griffey Jr's continued decline and possible narcolepsy culminated in an uncomfortable retirement and a possibly fractured clubhouse. Off-season signing Ryan Garko didn't even make it to Opening Day, while fellow signee Eric Byrnes lasted a mere month before riding his bicycle off to the California keg leagues. Their offense has been abyssmal, with Figgins taking a nose dive, Milton Bradley providing plenty of problems but little pop, and virtually everyone but Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez failing to hit at an acceptable level. All of which leaves Seattle entering the series with baseball's sixth poorest record and the AL's worst offense by a long shot.

As such, Cliff Lee and his expiring contract have become the hottest commodity on the market with the trade deadline 32 days away. There has been no shortage of rumors about whether the M's will hang on to him in an attempt to turn it around, or if they'd prefer the two draft picks his Type A status will net, or where he'd land if he were to be traded. There's been a ton of contradictory information out there, but the latest seems to be that the M's are quietly prepared to make a move.

As when any big name player hits the market, the Yankees have been rumored as a potential landing spot, with reports that Seattle has scouted the Yankees system. Yet even though a vocal segment of Yankee fans have been loudly clamoring for Lee since before Spring Training even began, a deal to the Bronx is unlikely. Despite A.J. Burnett's recent struggles, the Yankee rotation has been a strength for the team this year. As we saw with Javier Vazquez earlier this season, good pitchers may struggle for stretches, but they won't struggle forever. And with pitching coach Dave Eiland returning to the club tonight, perhaps Burnett's turnaround is coming soon. There just isn't the need nor the room for another front line starter.

Even if there were, there is no recent precedent for the Yankees making such a move. Following the 2007 season, the Yankees passed on an opportunity to acquire Johan Santana, who had a full year remaining on his contract. In his refusal to make the deal, Brian Cashman made his position clear: he is reluctant to pay twice - in both prospects and contract extensions - to acquire a player. He held fast to that philosophy the following summer, when in desperate need of pitching, he refused to deal for CC Sabathia and his expiring contract, content to gamble that the big lefty would be there for the taking on the free agent market after the season. He was, and after last season's World Series, Cashman appeared to be quite shrewd for biding his time.

If that's not enough to quell those covetous of Lee as he takes the Yankee Stadium mound tonight, then the pitcher in the other half innings should be. Phil Hughes was the centerpiece of the package the Yankees would have shipped to Minnesota had they pulled the trigger on the Santana deal, and had the Yankees pursued a Sabathia trade the asking price would have begun with Hughes as well. Instead Cashman chose to hang on to his top pitching prospect. After suffering through an injury plagued 2008, the organization was rewarded with a breakout 2009 from Hughes the set up man and is now enjoying a 2010 in which Phil Hughes is one of the top starters in the American League.

It's very possible that one of the two starting pitchers tonight will throw the first pitch of the All-Star Game in Anaheim two weeks from tonight. While it's tempting to think of Cliff Lee in Yankee pinstripes, that temptation isn't enough for me to feel comfortable sacrificing potential future All-Stars in Jesus Montero or Austin Romine or Manny Banuelos or Andrew Brackman or any number of other good Yankee prospects Seattle would want in exchange for Lee. The Yankees nearly lost Hughes two and a half years ago. I'm not prepared to lose the next Hughes in exchange for three months of Cliff Lee. Cashman runs the risk of losing Lee to another club now, but as the Sabathia situation taught us two years ago, sometimes a little patience leaves you with the best possible deal.

Did you hear the distant cry
Calling me back to my sin
Like the one you knew before
Calling me back once again

I nearly, I nearly lost you there
And it's taking us somewhere
I nearly lost you there
Let's try to see now

[Song Notes: Any series against the Mariners always has me thinking of the Seattle bands of the early nineties. Rather than going with one of the name brand grunge bands, tonight we'll go with the Screaming Trees. Though lesser known than Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, they had a few good tunes to their credit, this being one of them. Just goes to show that you don't always need to go shopping on the top shelf to find what you're looking for.]

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Brett Gardner's sore wrist keeps him out of the lineup tonight, but he is reportedly available for defense and pinch running duties. With a lefty on the mound Chad Huffman gets the start in left. There's a likely a roster move coming as well, as it's widely speculated that Dustin Moseley will be added to the bullpen in advance of him exercising his opt out clause today.[UPDATE 6:45 PM: No Moseley tonight, as he's still with Scranton.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Chad Huffman LF
Francisco Cervelli C

RHP Phil Hughes

Mariners:

Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chone Figgins 2B
Russell Branyan 1B
Milton Bradley DH
Jose Lopez 3B
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Jack Wilson SS
Rob Johnson C
Michael Saunders LF

LHP Cliff Lee

It Really Is A Mean Old World

Good morning Fackers. In Tuesday's preview, Jay lamented the state of Javy Vazquez' 2010 season, only to see the maligned pitcher take the hill and spin a gem over seven innings. Last night, Jay's choice of Chuck Berry's "Mean Old World" proved slightly more prophetic, but its meaning went far, far beyond the nagging injuries and vagaries of age that have impacted the Yankees at different points this season.

Vladimir Guerrero, enjoying a late career renaissance in his first season in Texas, took one of his own batted balls to the eye during batting practice, resulting in a trip to the hospital. Like half the Yankees' roster, he's day to day. And that doesn't even begin to tell to the terrible tales from last night around the Bigs.

Shortly after the Yankees' game got underway, Ken Griffey Jr announced his retirement, cutting short his 22nd Big League season hitting just .184/.250/.204 with only two extra base hits (both doubles) in 98 at bats. He suffered through his nap-gate controversy earlier this season, had been benched in recent weeks, and despite his statement to the contrary, was almost assuredly nudged towards the door.

I've had mixed feelings about Griffey over the course of his career, and I have mixed feelings about Griffey's retirement. It's near tragic to see him go out like this. At the same time, I suppose it's good that he didn't force Seattle to release the most iconic player in franchise history. And it's good that he didn't hang on longer to further tarnish his reputation. But I can't help but think he wouldn't have been better off just hanging them up after last year. Here's the farewell post we ran for Griffey eleven months ago. It was premature then; it's overdue now.

And yet the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Griffey's exit from the game don't even remotely approach what happened in Detroit last night. One out from an unprecedented third perfect game in the first third of the season, and second in four nights, Armando Galarraga coaxed a grounder to first. He raced to the bag, received the throw from Miguel Cabrera, and recorded what should have been the final out of the game. Instead first base umpire Jim Joyce called Jason Donald safe.

Armando Galarraga must feel terrible. Jim Joyce must feel even worse. And while the men in blue haven't been at all popular of late, and while many have made poor decisions that actively inserted themselves into the fabric of the game, Jim Joyce doesn't deserve what he has coming his way. It was a bang-bang play, not terribly close, but pretty close. And he made the wrong call. He didn't do it to make himself part of the storyline. He didn't do it to flex his muscles. He did it because he thought it was the right call. And he was wrong. And he's going to have to live with it for the rest of his life. And despite a 24 year career as a Major League umpire, a career that has been otherwise respectable if not commendable, Jim Joyce will forever be remembered for one mistake.

At least Griffey will be remembered for his peak, not his nadir. Jim Joyce won't ever be so lucky. It sure as hell can be a mean old world. Let's hope it's a little nicer today.

Tuesday Linkstavaganza

Can you tell what that pile of rubble used to be?

In the news department, as expected, Juan Miranda has been called up from AAA. We should have something a little later when the Yanks announce who is getting sent down.

Mike from the Yankeeist was at the game in Detroit last night. Not only did he make it to Comerica but experienced the city, from the partially-abandoned neighborhoods to the plush suburb of Grosse Pointe. Mike does a great job of describing the state of Motown and even though it's sort of depressing, it's well worth the read.

Joe DeLessio from New York Magazine went up to Boston for a game and compared to Mike when he was in Detroit, was treated quite kindly by the Fenway faithful. Having been to a decent number of games on Landsdowne during my college years, I can tell you that the people there aren't that bad. Like anywhere else, there are the occasional horror stories, but if you're not being obnoxious, you most likely won't have any problems.

If you are planning on heading to a game when the Yankees return to town or during the next homestand after that, check out the special "e-saver" deals listed by NYYSI.

If the Yankees keep signing catching prospects, they are going to have to start adding some more minor league affiliates so they all have a place to play.

Speaking of catchers in the system, Chad Jennings talked to Mark Newman who confirmed that, as was widely speculated, Jesus Montero was benched for not running out a ground ball. Some have made a big deal out of this, but the kid is 20 years old and it probably won't take more than one benching for him to get the message. And it's not like he was dogging it in the Majors. As Matt mentioned last night, Scranton has been without an actual starting pitcher for two out of their last four games. The emphasis just isn't on winning as much as it is in the Bronx and it might be easy to lose focus during a loss like the one the team suffered on Friday.

As Rebecca pointed out over at TYU last night, Randy Winn left seven men on base (I should have noted this in the recap, so I'm atoning for that omission here). Winn came up with runners on the corners in the 2nd and hit a foul pop out to first. The bases were loaded for him in the 6th but he flew out to end the inning. And in the 8th, he had runners on the corners and made the second out of the frame without getting the run home. Of course, the one time he came up when there was no one on, leading off the 5th, he notched a single. Good timing, dude.

On Friday, Larry from The Yankeeist did an excellent, in-depth interview with Moshe from TYU, touching on all sorts of personal and blogging stuff.

And one more from the TYU crew: Stephen R. shares a Kevin Youkilis story from 2008.

Via BBTF, if you've got $25K, you can buy the generator from the Old Yankee Stadium.

Chris Carter, the player the Yankees claimed off waivers to throw a wrench into the Red Sox/Mets Billy Wagner trade, has finally made his way to Flushing. The original move was little more than an inconvenience to the Sox but it screwed over Carter, who would have had a chance to get some playing time for the Mets last year. Hopefully he can make good on his opportunity this time around.

The Detroit Free Press is running Ernie Harwell's final interview in three parts: One, Two, Three.

CitiField has a garbage problem and it's not even Omar Minaya's fault!

Here's an interesting AP story on how teams are scouting umpires.

Congrats to Sky Andrecheck of Sports Illustrated and Baseball Analysts who just accepted a job in the Indians' front office.

The Honorable Morgan Ensberg presides over the case of Evan Longoria and his attempt to break up Dallas Branden's perfect game with a drag bunt. His verdict is basically that doing it when you are trying to help you team win (which he thinks Longoria was) is okay, but doing it when your team is down by a lot and it's late in the game, just to break up the no-no/perfecto is not.

Larry from Wezen-Ball lines up the career of Ken Griffey Jr. side by side with the 20 year run of The Simpsons and finds a lot of parallels. I've never been a huge fan of The Simpsons, but I'm sure some of you will appreciate the level of detail Lar went to in his analysis.

Dave Cameron thinks the fact that two players told reporters about Griffey's mid-game snooze indicates that the he doesn't have the respect of the clubhouse (otherwise they might have woken him up). He argues that you have to actually be a good player to be a leader.

Yesterday was the first day along the road to the U.S. Open for John Smoltz. Unfortunately, it was also the last. Smoltz shot a 76 and missed out on being one of the nine people to qualify for the next level by six shots. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he had a gallery of about 30 people at all times and took time to sign a bunch of autographs after he was done playing.

How could anyone fwah-get when Jason Varitek split the uprights and sent the Patriots to the Supah Bowl? Nawt the fackin' May-uh of Bahston! Manny Ortiz is rolling over in his imaginary grave right now.

This might be more egregious that the "Natinals" disaster. Less visible to be sure, but still completely inexcusable.

Is Adonis Cardona the best name for a baseball player ever? Probably not, but it's awesome as shit and has an awfully nice ring to it.

That's it for now, we should be back with something on the Miranda move in a bit, but if not we'll still have the preview at 5.

Thoughts On Griffey

Good morning Fackers. Late last June, as the Mariners came to the Bronx for the only 2009 series at Yankee Stadium, we ran this post as sort of our unofficial goodbye to Ken Griffey Jr. After a ten year absence, Junior had returned to Seattle, and it was assumed that 2009 would mark his victory lap and retirement tour around the American League.

Despite posting a .214/.324/.411 batting line and .323 wOBA, Griffey elected to return for a 22nd Major League season. I won't begrudge any player who wants to hang on as long as he can. And I could certainly imagine why Griffey would want to return to the M's, who were the surprise team of 2009 and made significant improvements in the off season.

Thus far though, 2010 has been an unmitigated disaster, both the for the Mariners and Griffey. The team is just 12-19, good for last in the weak AL West. While their pitching has been good and their defense has been characteristically outstanding, the offense has been downright abyssmal, ranking last in the league in virtually every meaningful category. Milton Bradley, the off-season acquisition brought it to bring some pop to the lineup, had his annual meltdown early this year and is on the restricted list. Eric Byrnes, picked up for the league minimum in hopes he could rediscover his mojo, played poorly, blew a suicide squeeze play, and then rode off on his bicycle to go play keg league softball in California. I'm not making that up.

As for Griffey, part two of the farewell tour is not faring well at all. He's hitting just .208/.265/.234 with a wOBA of .234. He's had just two extra base hits, both doubles. He's played at half win below replacement level. And it leaves the Mariners in quite a bind. They're desperately in need offense and they have a punchless designated hitter. As they look to salvage their season, there's a very real possibility that the process will entail putting a premature end to the career of a future Hall of Famer and quite possibly the greatest player in franchise history.

Yesterday, Larry LaRue of the Tacoma New-Tribune reported that Griffey will retire or be released by the end of the month. Even with all the Griffey-centric promotions Seattle has scheduled this year that news is sad, but isn't very surprising. What's both sad and surprising is the allegation in the story that Griffey wasn't available for a pinch hitting appearance last week because he was napping in the clubhouse.

Part of the justification for keeping Griffey around for another year was that he was a positive presence in the clubhouse, a good teammate, and a mentor to the younger players on the team. But if that story is true, it goes beyond Bobby Bonilla and Rickey Henderson playing cards as the 1999 NLCS wrapped up and it goes beyond Rey Sanchez getting a haircut during the late innings of a game. At least those players were awake.

Regardless of the napping allegation, the end is near for Junior, and it's sad. It's sad to see what was once the top player in the game taken out of the race before he could even limp across the finish line. It's sad the feel-good atmosphere of his 2009 return to Seattle seemingly has vanished in the wind. And it's sad that, true or not, the Ken Griffey Jr story is going to end with the suggestion that a mid-game nap was one of the final acts of his career. Griffey wore #24 because Rickey Henderson was his favorite player; Rickey wore it because Willie Mays was his. Mays' final season is remembered for him stumbling about center field in the 1973 World Series. Griffey's will be remembered for taking a snooze in the clubhouse.

As uncomfortable as it is to ask, and as unthinkable as it seems at present, I have to wonder: will the Yankees face a situation like this in the years to come? Not so much the nap part, but the uneasy situation where a living legend has outlived his usefulness. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte will all be free agents at season's end. I can't possibly imagine any of them playing elsewhere in 2011. But they will 37, 41, and 39 years old, respectively, next year. Jorge Posada will be a 39 year old catcher in the final year of his contract. Alex Rodriguez will be 35 and will have seven years remaining on his monstrous deal.

While Pettitte and Mo may be content to go year-to-year from here forward, and while Posada may hang em up after 2011, Jeter and A-Rod aren't likely to be going anywhere in the near future. What happens if their skills abandon them early in their final season, or worse yet, with years remaining on their contracts? Would the Yankees dare cut ties with one of them if meant the difference between sinking or swimming in the pennant race? How would we as fans react if one of those players became a detriment on the field?

It's easy to say these guys wouldn't hang on when they are clearly done, but it happens all the time. World class athletes tend to be a very proud bunch. They also tend to be the last ones to realize it when their skills have left them. The club went through something similar with Bernie Williams, and even with Joe Torre's unending loyalty cushioning the blow, that didn't end well. I hope that's not a bridge we have to cross again in the coming years.

Joba Gets Jacked, Bats Go Silent

So much for the 5 innings. So much for the hitch in his delivery. Joba Chamberlain was flat out awful this afternoon, not getting around it. He stumbled out of the gate in the first inning before falling flat on his face in the second.

Joba actually retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first but then allowed back to back doubles to Jose Lopez and Ken Griffey and then an RBI single to Adrian Beltre.

He went the opposite way in the 2nd, allowing two singles to begin the frame. The Mariners gave away an out via a sac bunt and then the Yanks gave away a baserunner by intentionally walking Ichiro to load the bases. I didn't work out as planned because Joba forced in a run when he walked Franklin Gutierrez after the count went full. Jose Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Yanks up 4-0. Joba got ahead 0-2 on Griffey, but left a fastball on the inside part of the plate which Griffey blasted to left for a no-doubt, three run jack.

Joba came back out and worked a scoreless third inning but that was all for him, after throwing 69 pitches in what, ERA-wise was his worst outing of the season.

It was a frustrating day at the plate as well. Ian Snell didn't pitch particularly well, distributing four hits and four walks over 5 1/3 IP and only striking out two, needing 105 pitches to do it. He only gave up one run though, as the Yanks mustered only one hit with runners in scoring position of of six attempts against him.

In it's any consolation (and it probably isn't) Sergio Mitre pitched brilliantly in relief of Joba, throwing 5 scoreless innings allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out 5. Mark Teixeira also added two doubles and was driven in by Jorge Posada in his return from his suspension for the Yanks' only run in the 6th inning.

It probably seems bad at the moment, but the Yanks are off to a far more important series in Anaheim in terms of perceived postseason implications. There will be much stuff to overreact to when the next three games come around.

Streak Strikes Seven

In a brisk two hour and fifteen minute game that was part pitchers' duel, part home run derby, the Yankees' winning streak reached seven games.

Andy Pettitte had a great outing, erasing the memory of his awful start in Atlanta last week, and turning in his best start yet at the new Stadium. He went seven innings, surrendering six hits and a walk against five Ks, throwing 63 of his 98 pitches for strikes. He surrendered two runs, with both Seattle tallies tying the game. In the fourth, with one out and runners on first and third, Wladimir Balentien tapped a potential inning ending double play grounder to Mark Teixeira. But Teix fumbled the exchange, getting just one out and allowing the run to score from third. Pettitte promptly added to his Major League record pickoff total to end the inning. His other run came in the sixth, as Ken Griffey Jr hit his 35th career HR against the Yankees.


Meanwhile, the Yankees generated all of their offense via the longball. Johnny Damon opened the scoring in the third, launching yet another HR to right, his fifteenth of the year. Melky Cabrera made it 2-1 in the fifth, lofting one over the leftfield foul pole into the loge, a shot that required replay confirmation.

With Mark Teixeira on first in the sixth, Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate. Getting half the night off as the DH, A-Rod entered the at bat 0 for 2 on the night, including a first inning double play. He would get back to his hot hitting in this at bat, blasting his second mammoth home run in as many nights, this one a shot to straightaway center, landing in Monument Park. It broke a 2-2 tie and closed the scoring for the night.

The Yankee bullpen was also impressive. Joe Girardi played the match up game in the eighth. Alfred Aceves was called upon to get Ronny Cedeno, inducing a fly out to right. Girardi then called on southpaw Phil Coke to get Seattle's two best hitters: lefties Ichiro and Russell Branyan. Coke needed just seven pitches to retire them both, getting Ichiro to tap back to the mound and fanning Branyan. Coke has now pitched 13.1 innings in his last 15 appearances, giving up one earned run, five hits, three walks, and whiffing fifteen.

Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth, getting three groundouts for his 502nd career save. The Yankees have now won seven in a row and haven't trailed in a game in more than a week. They go for the sweep tomorrow. We'll be back then with plenty of good stuff to take you into the holiday weekend.

Say Goodbye To The Kid

In 1989, a fledgling baseball card company card named Upper Deck issued its first set. In an unorthodox move for the time, the prestigious #1 card in the set was reserved for a 19 year old kid who had played all of 17 games above A ball. That card, shown above, would become an iconic baseball card at a time when the market was flooded with a multitude of brands and series. That company would become the premier card company amongst collectors, driving several competitors out of business. And that kid would become the iconic and premier baseball player of his generation.

Ken Griffey Jr. made his Major League debut on April 3, 1989. The Seattle Mariners were beginning their thirteenth season of Big League ball. The franchise had never won more the 78 games in a season, those coming in 1987, the same year they chose Junior Griffey with the first overall pick of the Amateur Draft. It would take the M's three years with Griffey to top that mark, but Griffey's arrival in 1989 was the first step to changing the organization's culture of losing.

Griffey's had his share of signature moments against the Yankees through the years. In his first series against the Yankees, Griffey went 3 for 11, hitting the fifth and sixth home runs of his young career. A week later, in his first trip to Yankee Stadium, Griffey went 5 for 12, blasting two home runs in the second game, the first multi-HR game of his career.

The next year, Griffey made what still may be his signature defensive highlight in a career that's been filled with them. Jesse Barfield blasted one deep to Death Valley, ticketed for the Yankee bullpen. Griffey sprinted towards the fence, leapt, and reached over the wall, hauling it in to end the inning before he sprinted in holding the ball aloft like a trophy. Video here.

Griffey beat on the Yankees throughout the first six years of his career, but in 1995 he took it to new levels. After breaking his wrist making yet another spectacular catch in late May, Griffey returned in mid-August. He hit just .265 in his first nine games back. When the Yankees came to town on August 24th, the M's were a game under .500, in third place in the AL West, and 11.5 games behind the Angels.

In the series opener, the Yanks were up 7-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth. The M's had tied the score with two outs, when Griffey came to the plate. He yanked the first pitch he saw from John Wetteland over the rightfield fence to give the Mariners the win. From that game on, they went 24-11, forcing a one game playoff against the Angels for the division. Seattle took it, setting up an ALDS match up with the Yankees. Griffey had only begun to inflict his damage upon them.

In Games 1 and 2, Griffey went 5 for 11. Hit 2 homers in Game 1, and added a third in Game 2, a go ahead shot in the 12th inning that would later be negated by a Ruben Sierra double and eventually a Jim Leyritz game winning homer. Griffey's exploits were somewhat negated by the two Yankee victories, but he wasn't done yet and neither were the M's.

As the Series moved to Seattle, Griffey stayed hot. After an ohfer in Game 3, he went 2 for 4 in Game 4, blasting his fourth HR of the Series. In the deciding fifth game he'd rip the Yankees' heart out. He went 2 for 5, with his fifth and final HR. His HR came in the eighth and pulled the Mariners within a run, They would tie it later in the inning. In the eleventh, Joey Cora led off with a single. Griffey singled him to third, leaving runners on the corners with no one out. Edgar Martinez then unleashed a double to left, Griffey sliding across the plate ahead of the throw and ending the Series. For the Series, Griffey hit .391/.444/1.093. He was a one man wrecking crew.


That series probably saved baseball in Seattle and pushed the vote to construct Safeco Field over the top. Shortly after Safeco opened in 1999, Griffey engineered his way out of the Great Northwest. I never particularly cared for Griffey. Much of it likely had to do with how badly he beat on the Yankees through my youth. Some of it has to do with how he pushed his way out of Seattle. Some of it has to do with how I thought he was a punk when he was younger, then a surly prick as he got older, capped by his dismissive, uninterested interview after winning the 1999 Home Run Derby.

But now, as Griffey is on what is both his welcome back and (likely) farewell tour of the American League, I can't help but feel bad for him. Griffey is amongst the greatest two or three ballplayers I've seen. While the events of the past few years have left no one above suspicion of PED usage, Griffey has to be as close as one can be to being above suspicion. As he tore apart the Yankees in that 1995 ALDS, it was very easy to imagine him rewriting the record books. Instead, inferior ballplayers and inferior human beings have attained the accolades for which Griffey once seemed destined. After leaving Seattle Griffey made into 140 games just three times in nine seasons, and three times failed to reach ninety games. Still, he reached the 600 HR milestone last season and is an assured first ballot Hall of Famer. Enjoy his visit to the Bronx this week; it'll likely be his last.