Ken Griffey | The Baseball Zealot

Griffey a rarity in a cynical age

My thoughts on Ken Griffey who retired last week:

As I read through some of articles about Griffey’s retirement, I noticed many had an inset of the top ten homerun hitters of all time. Griffey lands fifth on that list with 630… a notable accomplishment indeed. But as I read through the list, it occurred to me how rare Griffey really was. This top ten list is scandal-ridden. If some of these players weren’t involved in some scandal or suspected of wrong-doing, others were out-and-out jerks.

Rank	Player	HR
1	Barry Bonds	762
2	Hank Aaron	755
3	Babe Ruth	714
4	Willie Mays	660
5	Ken Griffey	630
6	Sammy Sosa	609
7	Alex Rodriguez	591
8	Frank Robinson	586
9	Mark McGwire	583
10	Harmon Killebrew	573

There are exceptions. Hank Aaron, of course. As far as I know, Harmon Killebrew was just guilty of having thick arms. And Frank Robinson did have the gun thing in 1961 but I think I’ll give him a pass.

True, some players’ “scandals” are pretty minor by today’s standards. But in the day, MLB took Willie Mays and his casino dealings very seriously.

And yeah, I’m putting Babe Ruth in the jerk category.

Point being, there aren’t many players like Ken Griffey Jr let alone players of his caliber. And when things went a little south for Junior, he didn’t resort to methods outside the game to embellish his talents.

Indeed, the worst we can say about Griffey is that he took a nap during a game. Embarrassing. I submit it is embarrassing certainly not of Griffey but for the media and those who enabled that circus. For a man who gave his life to the game the way he did, he deserved a few winks.

I’ll close this out by posting a few quotes about Junior sent to me by dear reader DonS. These quotes are by respected members of the baseball community who are most qualified to speak on the topic of Ken Griffey Junior.

“To play with him is a treasure I will keep deep in my heart, I have played 19 years in professional baseball and I can say he was one of my best teammates and my best friend.”

-Ichiro Suzuki

“It’s like winning the lottery of baseball, You get to play with one of the greatest.”

-Chone Figgins

“Junior was one of the finest young men I’ve ever had the opportunity to manage, When we were in Seattle together, I believe he was the best player in baseball and it was truly an honor to be his manager.”

-Lou Piniella

Breakdown of #1 picks in the First-Year Player Draft

Monday: Picked first in the first.

In one week, the 2009 First-Year Player Draft will take place. This year, the Washington Nationals will have the top the top pick.

How ‘bout some interesting facts/trivia about the very top picks in the 44 year history of the major league rookie draft?

Breakdown of High School/College?

Since Rick Monday was picked #1 by the A’s in 1965, 24 top picks were drafted out of high school and 20 were drafted out of college. That’s more coming out of the hallowed halls of learning than I thought, quite honestly.

Arizona State University had some good mojo going as far as the top pick goes. They are the only institution (high school or university) that has the honor of more than one #1 pick… and they have three! Monday, Floyd Bannister, who went to the Astros in 1976 and Bob Horner who got picked by Atlanta two years later all came from ASU.

Who are the only #1 picks that never made the majors?

LHP Brien Taylor picked by the Yanks in 1991 and Steve Chilcott who was chosen by the Mets in 1966 (the second year of the draft) never made it to the bigs. I’m giving Tim Beckham and Matthew Bush (2006 and 2004 picks respectively) a mulligan here. Let’s give them a chance.

Which #1 pick has played the most in the majors?

Whether you’re judging on games or at-bats, 1977 pick Harold Baines wins on both counts with 2830 games and 9908 at-bats. Ken Griffey comes in at a close second (2559 games, 9446 at-bats).

Among pitchers, Seattle’s first round pick in 1981, Mike Moore pitched in 450 major league games and won 161 games.

What position was picked the most as the top pick?

Not surprisingly, pitchers were high on the list,

C- 5
1B- 4
SS- 10
3B- 4
OF- 9
P- 13 (4 lefties, 9 righties)

Interestingly, no players were drafted as secondbasemen. Keep in mind that these figures are the positions they were drafted at not necessarily where they ended up playing. B.J. Surhoff at short? Hah!

Which teams had the most first picks since 1965?

No, it’s not the Rays (who had four). The San Diego Padres and New York Mets tied for this honor with five apiece.

How many top picks eventually became major league All-Stars?

Among the 44 first picks to date, twenty have appeared in a major league All-Star game. At this point, no first pick has gotten in the Hall of Fame but for my money, Ken Griffey Jr and Chipper Jones both have a good chance to make it. (update- Arod too, if voters forget about the PED thing).

Another ex-Mariner caught

Isn’t it ironic that on the day that Ken Griffey Jr ties Sammy Sosa for fifth on the all-time home run list that MLB punishes another former major leaguer named Sosa for performance enhancing drugs? This one Jorge Sosa, the righthanded pitcher who currently is in the Mariner organization was found positive for amphetamines.

Ok, off on a tangent here… I’ve said this before but unlike many Cub fans, I’ve never had a grudge against Sammy. Despite the fact that he could have handled a lot of things a whole lot better in his latter days with the Cubs, to me his legacy includes his 545 homeruns and 1414 rbis.

As for Jorge Sosa, what is it with all the former Seattle Mariners getting caught with PEDs? First it was Ryan Franklin back in 2005 then Jose Guillen last year. Now Jorge Sosa.

It’s not rocket science. They are testing the players. If it’s in their system like it or not, they will notice.

Oh, congrats to you, Junior. I still like you even if you went to the Sox.

Griffey: Two games

Amazingly, the White Sox newly acquired centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr was able represent his whole career in the space of two games.

Friday, a "young" Griffey "sizzled" against Kansas City and went 2 for 3 with 2 rbis, helping his new team to a 4-2 over the Royals.

He appeared to age overnight as he left the game early Saturday due to cramping in his right leg. He was 0-2.

Tomorrow, maybe he’ll take a seat next to the Hawk.