ADIOS AMIGO

Ken Griffey Junior's final hit of his hall of fame career was a walk-off pinch-hit single to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 at Safeco field in Seattle on May 20, 2010. His final home run was hit on October 4, 2009 helping the Mariners defeat the Teas Rangers 2-1. Junior hit 19 home runs in 2009. He failed to go yard this season. After batting only .184 in 98 at-bats this year as the Mariner's left handed specialist and dealing with rumors surrounding his decline, Junior decided to walk away from the game of baseball on June 2, 2010 at the age of forty.

Although it didn't bolster Junior's career homerun total of 630 (5th all-time), Cincinnati fans will always remember the walk-off grand slam he hit to defeat the Reds 6-5 on March 26, 2010 during spring training while playing for the Mariners. It was the first game in which Junior had ever faced his former team. After hitting 210 home runs for the Reds in nine injury plagued seasons, Junior crushed a 3-2 Kip Wells pitch for his final (unofficial) homerun to defeat them.

There was nothing unofficial about Junior's 21-plus year major league career. During baseball's steroid era, Junior will always be know as the one who did it right. Because of that, he suffered multiple injuries over the years that sidelined his numbers and himself. Juicing could have potentially prevented, or at least minimized, his stints on the disabled list, but Junior never submitted to the temptation. He played the game that he loved aristocratically, and when he failed to have fun, he stopped.

"I've come to a decision today to retire from Major League Baseball as an active player," Griffey said. "This has been on my mind recently, but it's not an easy decision to come by. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to play Major League Baseball for so long and thankful for all the friendships I have made, while also being proud of my accomplishments. While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field, and nobody in the front office asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back, that I will never allow myself to become a distraction. I feel that 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, and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be."

Ken Griffey Junior will always be remembered as a dedicated family man, a congenial sports icon, and an extraordinary baseball player. Long live The Kid.



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