For many people my age, he was the Mickey Mantle of our generation. Too bad he couldn't stay healthy because in an era of meatheads he could have been the all-time HR leader and done it clean.

6/2/2010 7:46:18 PM

Zzzzzzz...

but for real yeah he was the man, and he did it the right way

6/2/2010 7:48:49 PM

As a kid playing little league ball, I loved him more than my own father. I still have a poster rolled up in my closet.

This news makes me feel old

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 7:52 PM. Reason : And I remember watching that game in my bedroom. Mom had grounded me. Stupid Mom.]

6/2/2010 7:49:51 PM

1st ballot HOFer. i learned my batting stance and hand grip by watching him as a kid

6/2/2010 7:52:50 PM

I modeled my entire swing on him as a kid. Too bad I never grew past 5'9"..

6/2/2010 7:53:47 PM

I still step to the plate in softball games channeling Junior...

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 7:55 PM. Reason : P.S. Heyward is this generation's Jr. ]

6/2/2010 7:54:23 PM

Quote :

"1st ballot HOFer"

yeah right

6/2/2010 8:01:39 PM

nah...nah, i'm not gonna bite

6/2/2010 8:03:28 PM

how is he not? 630 HRs and almost 2800 hits

and 10 gold gloves and an MVP

yourself



[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 8:14 PM. Reason : .]

6/2/2010 8:06:38 PM

Disappointed Sox fans trollin ITT

6/2/2010 8:08:00 PM

i saw him hit a home run in shea stadium, one of the best baseball moments of my life

6/2/2010 8:11:01 PM

hopefully jr's 89 ud will skyrocket to mm's 58 topps $s!!

my bro had a jr/sr poster and still has the '89 upper deck

6/2/2010 8:25:43 PM

This thread made me sad.

6/2/2010 8:26:38 PM

I hate baseball, but like Griffey.

6/2/2010 8:29:32 PM

*5th in career HRs with 630, *14th all time in RBIs with 1836, 7 Silver Sluggers, 10 Gold Gloves, 13xAll-Star, ROY in 1989, and MVP in 1997.

*4th and 13th when you take out Bonds

6/2/2010 8:48:07 PM

i think i still have his Donruss rookie card somewhere

too bad it aint worth shit

6/2/2010 8:49:32 PM

6/2/2010 8:55:59 PM

6/2/2010 9:03:35 PM

damn, sweetest swing in baseball

one of my alltime favorite players, always seemed like a class guy, its too bad he fell off after his seemingly never-ending battle with injuries during his Cincinnati years and didnt have a proper sendoff before he retired

6/2/2010 9:03:51 PM

always thought he was good, but he seemed like an ass, never a huge fan... and his swing had nothing on Will Clark

6/2/2010 9:08:44 PM

^ now THAT'S a troll post if i've ever seen one!

6/2/2010 9:09:35 PM

how is my OPINION of someone a troll post???

6/2/2010 9:35:42 PM

he seemed like an ass?

really?

6/2/2010 9:37:07 PM

the "always thought he was good" part wasnt a troll

the clark bit was either a troll or a joke

and maybe educate us on him being an ass, thats not a side of him I ever saw

6/2/2010 9:37:16 PM

Jaybee says he's not shit compared to Cap Anson (they played Babe Ruth League together)

6/2/2010 9:37:34 PM

Quote :

"...and his swing had nothing on Will Clark"

you stop that

6/2/2010 9:38:35 PM

i dont know if you can take out bonds

his bitch tits weigh a lot

6/2/2010 9:43:42 PM

He just seemed like an ass, particularly once he went to Cincy...

and the Will Clark part wasnt trolling, he was known for having a perfect swing

6/2/2010 9:51:33 PM

he was known for wearing eye black and playing with young matt williams' and kevin mitchells

6/2/2010 9:53:06 PM

IBThe Dude

6/2/2010 9:55:02 PM

and for being a great hitter... with a perfect swing... and playing for a loaded Miss. State team



and for the record (before you dumbshits turn it into this) I NEVER said he was a better player, hitter, had better stats than etc. Griffey... just noted that he had a great swing.

6/2/2010 9:55:09 PM

Quote :

"and playing for a loaded Miss. State team"

ah it makes sense now...Jaybee was going to Mississippi State baseball games as a kid and partipating in 'SEC' chants, even back then

6/2/2010 9:56:58 PM

I loved Will Clark's swing. His swing was as close to perfect as you get.

I also loved KGJr. Class act.

6/2/2010 10:18:21 PM

I saw him hit a HR in a preseason game that I attended in Florida about ten years ago...

6/2/2010 10:19:16 PM

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 10:32 PM. Reason : ]

6/2/2010 10:20:31 PM

Homer had a better swing

6/2/2010 11:12:38 PM

From ESPN Insider:

Quote :

" I was once assigned to do a story on Ken Griffey Jr. when I was working at The New York Times. It was early in Griffey's time with the Cincinnati Reds. I stood in a corner of the Reds' clubhouse and waited for Griffey, and when he walked in, he had a big smile. He joked with clubhouse attendants and teased batboys, and you could tell from the conversations that he had forged a strong relationship with all of these folks; they were giving him a hard time, in a good way, and he was going back at them, in a good way. He cared about these people -- which fell right in line with everything I had heard about Griffey's interactions with friends. He has a golden heart, I was told. I had spoken with Griffey before in larger settings, in group interviews, but I really had never spoken with him personally -- one-on-one. I walked over to him and asked him for some time, and immediately the smile disappeared. He reached over and looked at the words on the press credential, and he smirked. The interview, for the most part, was a wrestling match; he was sensitive, he was defensive, he was combative, in dealing with questions that really weren't that difficult. This also fell right in line with everything that I had ever heard about Griffey: that he read and absorbed every word written and said about him, and that he had a tough time dealing with the scrutiny that comes with being a superstar. And after that time with him, I've always been convinced of two things about Griffey: No. 1: He would be a great next-door neighbor. He would play with your kids, he would ask you along when he flew on his private jet, he would open his home to you in a difficult moment. When Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News retired, one of the first people to call him was Ken Griffey Jr. He is, at heart, a nice and caring person. No. 2: There may not have been a star player less suited for the fishbowl that star athletes must live in these days than Ken Griffey Jr. CC Sabathia handles all of this with relative ease, and so do Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins; but Griffey never did. He would have been happier playing baseball in empty ballparks, just enjoying the game without having to deal with all that comes with it at the major league level. And without a doubt, he was the most dynamic player of his time, with the power, the flawless swing, the incredible defensive skills, his ability to hit and run and throw, and rise to the moment. Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez offered their memories of Junior to Larry Stone. There was no happy ending for Griffey, writes Steve Kelley. Griffey was unable to recapture the spirit of 2009, writes Geoff Baker. Griffey is the best that the Mariners' fans have ever had, writes Dave Boling. The other Mariners didn't hear the news until their manager told them, writes Larry LaRue. From a dirty era, Ken Griffey Jr. came out clean. "

6/3/2010 10:08:47 AM

Quote :

"As a kid playing little league ball, I loved him more than my own father."

haha, that's about right.

also; i, too, tried to swing like griffey.

6/3/2010 10:15:23 AM

griffey was always my favorite player and continues to be my favorite player

to my knowledge, he also hasn't ever been associated with roids...one of the few

6/3/2010 11:03:53 AM

your cross-trainers were so dope

6/3/2010 4:38:18 PM

ohh and i about forgot about his cleats...when i was a kid, i felt like they were the pf flyers of my generation

6/3/2010 4:40:44 PM

I was never a "Baseball Fan" but I did enjoy watching the Braves and did enjoy watching Griffey. I was always dissapointed when he got those nagging injuries. Wish had got a decent farewell.


III

6/3/2010 4:42:57 PM

hearing this news actually made me sad this morning.

i loved baseball growing up but really lost interest over the past decade.

He was a once in a generation type player and it's too bad injuries prevented him from fulfilling all of his potential.

Awesome fucking game for the Super Nintendo, they even let you edit player names so you could put in the real lineups (stats were real).

I think Deion Sanders was named Neon. and fred mcgriff had something to do with crime dog. Boston had Norm, Cliff, and Malone for Cheers. someone had p.parker, b.wayne, j. bond. philly had rocky and apollo creed. Griffey was so sweet in that game man.

6/4/2010 1:25:44 AM

snap

6/4/2010 2:34:08 AM

^^yep, had that game. Wanna say that Sam Malone was a clone of Jose Canseco? My dad got me to play it with my grandad once, but I was worried the REALISTIC GRAPHICS would freak him out since he was in bad health.

Griffey was an auto HR if you hit down on the dpad+B, but you couldn't trade for him.

I always traded for the Kenny Lofton clone b/c on a bunt he was an automatic hit. Then you bunt him over to 2nd on out 1, to 3rd on out 2, then you have another fast player (like the Neon clone) that can outrun the bunt sub for the cleanup hitter and you score the winning run.

6/4/2010 3:59:43 PM