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First ballot Hall of Famer no doubt about it. Would have loved to see what he could have done if injuries wouldn't have affected his career. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5244661
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Legend
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Legend
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I hate to say this ..... but I didn't even realize he was still playing.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 70,654 Likes: 510 |
He probably would have been the All Time Home Run King if he wasn't injured...man he had some talent
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
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Quote:
He probably would have been the All Time Home Run King if he wasn't injured...man he had some talent
I think Griffey is the only clean power-hitter from the steriod-era.
That's why his body broke down, and at 40 years old, he was playing like a 40 year old man, unlike the juicers that are Bonds, Clemens, etc.
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
Joined: Sep 2006
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Also true of Frank Thomas - whose career progression (HR wise) follows exactly what you'd expect from a pre-steroid power hitter.
There's a great joepo article on this somewhere.
Last edited by Lyuokdea; 06/02/10 09:18 PM.
~Lyuokdea
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
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Kind of expected.. I mean Griffey had to get caught up on his naps....
SaintDawg™
Football, baseball, basketball, wine, women, walleye
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Legend
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Legend
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Agree. The guy has been a class act. Too bad he never got WS ring. He had an amazing swing. Certainly would have shattered home-run record had it not been for injuries. Also, he was a gold glove outfielder. As a kid, I remember my mom telling me, after she bought me a case/box of unopened baseball cards, (i think 24 packs). She said " the guy at the flea market said if you find a Ken Griffey jr rookie card, hang on to it, he'll be good." My mom knew nothing of baseball. I ended opening a 1989 Donruss KG Jr baseball card. Looked it up in Beckett...$1.40 and going up!! Ahhhh, the nostalgia. No idea where that card is today. Congrats on a hall of fame career KG Jr. 
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Dawg Talker
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Dawg Talker
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I have a lot of the Donruss ones, but the Upper Deck one was the one to have.
He was my favorite non-Indian hitter by far...
Joe Thomas made Justin Timberlake change his name. He didn't want wusses to have the same initials...
Dawg Talker since 3/26/2005...
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Legend
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Legend
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Ahh, the Upper Deck. That was the top tier card. The best! I think if I recall the Donruss rookie cards said "Rated Rookie" in the upper right corner. For some odd reason, I recall a Mike Harvey (cubs) "Rated Rookie." I have no idea why I remember that.
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
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It's become kind of a cliche at this point, but that swing really was sweet.
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Dawg Talker
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Dawg Talker
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Probably my favorite baseball player growing up. Got his autograph in 1992 when I was a ballboy for the tribe.
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Hall of Famer
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Makes me feel old 
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Oct 2006
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Quote:
Quote:
He probably would have been the All Time Home Run King if he wasn't injured...man he had some talent
I think Griffey is the only clean power-hitter from the steriod-era.
That's why his body broke down, and at 40 years old, he was playing like a 40 year old man, unlike the juicers that are Bonds, Clemens, etc.
Said this many times here -- this is why he was always hurt and recovering,...he refused to use.
Mark down their ages when Ruth, Mays and Aaron had to quit,...Eddie Mathews, Kaline.
No, Rafael (::finger pointed::) THESE guys didn't use roids.
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
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Quote:
Also true of Frank Thomas - whose career progression (HR wise) follows exactly what you'd expect from a pre-steroid power hitter.
There's a great joepo article on this somewhere.
I can buy Frank Thomas, as well. Forgot about him.
Being 22 years old, Griffey was the face of baseball for my generation.
Gonna miss The Kid, a lot 
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Any word on if he fell asleep in his press conference?
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
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Quote:
I hate to say this ..... but I didn't even realize he was still playing.
x2
I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch......
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Legend
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Legend
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that upper deck rookie was the holy grail of baseball cards if you were a little kid growing up in the early 90's... you would've traded the honus wagner for it.
i am glad to say that i got to see him many many times at the muni as well as jacobs field. awesome awesome player, was my favorite growing up as well as probably many others my age.
class guy.
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Legend
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Legend
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Ken Griffey Jr. affected my childhood sports obsession more than any non-Cleveland athlete (close 2nd was Bo Jackson).
I mean, the swing, the homeruns, the smile, climbing the wall to take away home runs. He had everything you could want in a superstar.
That '95 Mariner team was a thing of beauty to watch (with Randy Johnson) and maybe my feelings toward them would be different if we didn't beat them in the playoffs, but I never felt animosity towards that team like I did the other rivals of that era (White Sox, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles).
I was full-on cheering for them to catch the Angels and that was the best 1-game playoff MLB has had in my years.
I was full-on cheering for them to beat the Yankees and loved that they came back from 2-0 to do it.
then, let us not forget one of the most addictive video games ever made. Ken Griffey Jr. baseball for the SuperNintendo. I lost a lot of hours in my youth to that game and they were well-spent. I still cannot believe that game didn't become the 'Madden' of baseball games.
finally, the last time I saw Jr. live was my first trip to PacBell Park in SF (or whatever it's called now). He didn't start as he was nursing an injury and I was wandering around the park checking out all the sitelines with my friends when a roar ripped through the crowd. Jr. was in the batter's box. He was going to pinch-hit. We raced to the homerun porch in front of McCovey Cove. And yes, he hit one right to us (missed it by about 15 feet).
Great player, great career despite the injuries. A tip of the hat and a smile for one of the generations best.
#gmstrong
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Legend
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Legend
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i remember buying griffey jr and changing all the fake names to the real ones. my dad helped me. it was awesome.
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
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I just played the Girffey baseball game for N64 like two weeks ago, actually lol.
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Hall of Famer
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When is Griffey eligible for the Hall?
I don't remember how long you have to be retired before you can be inducted...
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Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
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Quote:
then, let us not forget one of the most addictive video games ever made. Ken Griffey Jr. baseball for the SuperNintendo. I lost a lot of hours in my youth to that game and they were well-spent. I still cannot believe that game didn't become the 'Madden' of baseball games.
One of the greatest games. Its the only baseball game that I did a complete 162 game season with.
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i remember buying griffey jr and changing all the fake names to the real ones. my dad helped me. it was awesome.
Same here, i will never forget the one summer that me and my step bro did this and then finished the full season.
Eat it Phil...
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 9,149 |
Quote:
that upper deck rookie was the holy grail of baseball cards if you were a little kid growing up in the early 90's... you would've traded the honus wagner for it.
i am glad to say that i got to see him many many times at the muni as well as jacobs field. awesome awesome player, was my favorite growing up as well as probably many others my age.
class guy.
Tough call,...that Honus card -- the best one of the seven thought to even exist -- went for over $700,000 last time it sold (???)
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 17,025 Likes: 1 |
Quote:
Quote:
that upper deck rookie was the holy grail of baseball cards if you were a little kid growing up in the early 90's... you would've traded the honus wagner for it.
i am glad to say that i got to see him many many times at the muni as well as jacobs field. awesome awesome player, was my favorite growing up as well as probably many others my age.
class guy.
Tough call,...that Honus card -- the best one of the seven thought to even exist -- went for over $700,000 last time it sold (???)
well, yeah. i was joking, but yeah that card will go for over a mil in the short time.
have you ever read about that thing. completely shady. if you claim to have a copy. in order to get in certified as legit, you have to give it up to a bunch of people, without being in the same room, meaning you have to trust them to not pull a switcheroo with one of the most coveted pieces of sports memorabilia out there. the rarest of rare.
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Legend
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Legend
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This is why, in the world of sports memorabilia, I stick to "I was actually there" witnessed autographs, and cards -- like the company certified Hawk I sent you the pic of -- that cannot usually be duplicated, or ones that I opened the pack on.
There is no way I would let anyone touch a card I thought to be an actual Wagner without me losing train or chain of custody sight on. No way.
I can show you my autographed Krenzel mini helmet, but would EXPECT you to question it's authenticity, as you were not there to witness.
I'm sure he would remember and authenticate it for me, but for his death, my son and I coerced Eric Turner to sign a BNI issue with him on the cover when he wasn't signing during his rookie year,....
Authentication is very tough,...sure would like to have pack-pulled a Griffey Upper Deck,....
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All Pro
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All Pro
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Quote:
I have a lot of the Donruss ones, but the Upper Deck one was the one to have.
He was my favorite non-Indian hitter by far...
Ditto. Him and Bo Jackson.
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 14,248 |
Quote:
that upper deck rookie was the holy grail of baseball cards if you were a little kid growing up in the early 90's... you would've traded the honus wagner for it.
Ha! Now that you mention it, I remember an episode of the Tonight Show way back in the early 90's, where Jay Leno gave this "kid genius" something like $1000 dollars to invest for Jay's retirement. The kid talked about "diversifying" and one of the things he used the money on was that Ken Griffey Jr rookie card.
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Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Ken Griffey Jr Retiring
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