After giving us over two decades of excitement, The Kid thinks it’s time for him to watch the highlights that he routinely created.

On Wednesday, 13-time All-Star Ken Griffey, Jr. retired from major league baseball.  Griffey’s career was dedicated to two franchises – the Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds (albeit he had a very brief stint with the Chicago White Sox). 

In Griffey own words:

“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 … I will never allow myself to become a distraction.”

“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.”

With Griffey making that statement at the close of a Hall of Fame career, it let’s us realize how much of a team-first guy he has been throughout his playing years.  Being blessed with extraordinary physical and athletic gifts, Ken Jr. made the game look easy - and his all-out play earned the respect of not only the fans, but his peers and management, too.

Seattle Mariners’ team president Chuck Armstrong:

“Ken is both the finest player I have ever known and one of the finest people. Ken is truly the heart and soul of this franchise. If Yankee Stadium is the House That Ruth Built, then Safeco Field is The House That Griffey Built.”

Perfectly put but a man who knows that Griffey put Seattle baseball on the map.  But in addition to that, Griffey made baseball fun and even cool.  Outside of the great Willie Mays, there’s not another player who can claim to be a better all-around player than The Kid.  He clubbed 630 homers.  He amassed over 2,700 career hits.  Griffey had great hands and defensive instincts, as evidence by a mountain of highlights and his 10 Gold Gloves.  He recorded double figures in stolen bases in ten of his first eleven years in the majors.

He smiled, he had fun, and we enjoyed being a part of it.  It’s a sad reality, but he’s left the game.

Hopefully, he’s left it with players who also have good hands.