Now Entering the Hall of Fame, Ken Griffey Jr.

Sometime in the early 90's I decided to take my son to see the California Angels play the Seattle Mariners at Anaheim Stadium. We went figuring we would be able to by tickets at the gate, because back then no one ever went to see the Angels play. As we were walking into the parking area, us savvy folks always parked outside and saved a few coins, a guy approached me and wanted to know if I wanted some good tickets. I think I paid $40.00 for two club level seats just up the third base line from home plate. It was the perfect place to watch Ken Griffey Jr. hit. And hit he did. I am not sure when it happened. I am not even sure who won that night. But this much I know. Griffey hit a line drive shot out of the park that night and we saw it. Now I know a lot of you are saying big deal, lots of guys hit home runs, and I agree. But not every hitter can put a ball clean out of the stadium. And very few will ever do it like Griffey. You see, he didn't put the ball over the tops of those right field bleachers. Nope. He put that screaming line drive through the entrance tunnel to the seats in right field. He could have killed someone. It was one of the hardest balls I have ever seen hit. Yesterday, Ken Griffy Jr. retired from the game of baseball. From 1993 through 2000, he was the most feared hitter in baseball. An all star every year, gold glove winner every year, and the American League leader in home runs 4 of those years. He was the total package, hitting .294 and 351 home runs . And he did not take steroids. Griffey is retiring with 630 lifetime home runs. In my book, that places him fourth on the all time list, right behind Aaron, Ruth, and Mays. I count myself as privileged to have seen the future Hall of Famer play. Congratulations Ken Griffey Jr. on a great career.

Dear Commissioner Selig

Dear Bud Selig, What a mess you have on your hands. Steroids, HGH, cheating, lying, and who knows what else. No matter what you say, no matter how you plan to spin it, you cannot escape the fact that baseball, since you took over has been damaged, perhaps permanently. I know that the numbers in the stands are better than ever, but so are the numbers for Hockey and no one is calling that a major sport in the U.S. anymore. I’ll give you that for once we were able to negotiate a labor agreement with the union without a work stoppage, but as the saying goes, “What have you done for me lately?” So what are you going to do? Over the last few days we have heard that some of what we once thought were the best players in the game today are cheaters. We are not talking pine tar or spitball cheaters; we are talking unfair advantage cheaters. And you let it happen. You can say all you want about being the one to finally clean it up, but that is like giving credit to a two year old for cleaning up his own spilt milk after an hour of whining. Clemens. Pettitte. Bonds. Justice. Giambi. Sheffield. Dykstra. Brown. Tejada, and about eighty others. How did this happen? How could this have happened without one owner knowing anything? Could it be because you all [they are your employers aren’t they?] were too interested in improving the bottom line as opposed to improving the game? So what are you going to do? Simply saying that we now must move past this will not work. Baseball needs a bold statement that this type of behavior will not be tolerated, now or ever again. We need a Judge Landis response. Are you up to it? In the eighties major league baseball banned Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays from all baseball activities for conduct detrimental to the game. Do you remember what their sin was? It was saying hello to patrons at an Atlantic City Casino. That sure seems minor league compared to this. Here is my suggestion. Effectively immediately, ban every single person listed in Senator Mitchell’s report. If you believe his report to be accurate, and I have not heard you say otherwise, ban them all. For a period of years equal to the steroid era, roughly 12 years. Under your broad powers to uphold the integrity of the game, you have the power to do this, and you should. And then make it clear moving forward that anyone else caught using performance enhancing drugs in any fashion will face an immediate banishment for life from the game of baseball. Mr. Selig, we have a crisis of confidence in this great game. Children do not watch the game. Grown ups are disgusted. Moms do not want their kids to grow up like Jose Canseco, capable of hitting home runs but loaded up with drugs. The game I grew up with, the great game of Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, and Hank Aaron has been sullied, on your watch. I hope and pray you have the courage and fortitude to step to the plate and clean it up. Please don’t get caught looking! Sincerely, A Concerned Fan UPDATE: It is always good to see that someone else agrees with you. Check out this short post asking the question wwkld? (as always, use this however you want, just give us credit) technorati tags: Bud Selig, Steroids, Baseball, Cheaters, Mitchell Report