The Guys in Charge

June 29, 2010 2 Comments

So, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there isn’t much going on in sports right now. With the US out of the World Cup, the NBA Finals over, the Americans out of Wimbledon, and baseball nearing the midseason break, Sportscenter is having a tough time filling a full show. Then again, this is around the time of the Make-a-Wish program (or perhaps maybe even another Mt Rushmore of Sports). I, for one, enjoyed their promotion of who’s more now? I wasn’t sure what this meant, but it was pretty much a popularity contest. Nevertheless, I am very intrigued what ESPN will do in this summer’s promotion.

While I won’t address the NBA free agency question until next week, there has been one thing that has overshadowed sports: Officiating. If you call yourself a sports fan, you have probably had an issue with the referees lately. Whether it is in the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and most notably the World Cup, the referees have failed to make themselves invisible.

I would like to start by explaining how one becomes an official in sports. Most begin as a volunteer ref and have to work their way up. As you become better and more experienced you can become a high school referee. From there, you must get promoted to the college level. If you do very well at the college level, you may have an opportunity to ref at the pro level as well. Many doors have to open for one to make it to the pros. In fact, in some cases becoming a professional referee may be as tough as becoming a professional athlete. So with all this in mind, it just doesn’t make sense why an official would want to go through all this training only to be scrutinized. Because lets face it, you aren’t going to be recognized for calling a good game.

It all began in Detroit about a month ago. It was none other than the infamous call of Jim Joyce, ruining the perfect game of Armando Galarraga that forever altered baseball history. In a sport where MLB umpires make 99.9% of their calls correctly, leave it to the media to blow this one incident out of proportion. For those who have watched any of the College World Series, there is no question how much greater MLB umpires are than at any other level. Unlike other sports, MLB umpires have been very quick to admit their mistakes. In a recent poll conducted by ESPN The Magazine, Major League Baseball players voted Jim Joyce the best big league umpire. Quite odd, given Joyce’s recent bad publicity. So I could not help but sympathize with Joyce when he missed one of the biggest calls in sports history. However, he immediately apologized for his human error, and was later greeted to a standing ovation at the same stadium that booed him off the field the day before. This is America, after all. America is one of the most forgiving countries in the world, and Baseball is America.

As if the Tigers hadn’t gone through enough with the umps, the recent Johnny Damon call was no help. The Tigers had the bases loaded in the 9th with two outs down by 1, when Damon was rung up on strikes to end the game. Later on, the home plate umpire apologized for calling the last pitch a strike when it was clearly out of the zone. For those casual baseball fans, two blown calls in the past month may make one think that this kind of stuff always happens. I would respond by challenging you to think of another blown call in the past ten years of baseball. If I can’t think of another one, then chances are there haven’t been many. So before you make a quick judgment on MLB umpires, you must realize the number of games they call each season. The numbers are on their side.

This leads me to a new joke I just heard: “World Cup referees.” Yes, that is the punch line. The referee’s flaws were most notable in the US-Slovenia game, and the errors keep coming. It is no surprise to most that refs have a strong bias against the US, after all so does most of America. So when the US team overcame mysterious offsides and foul calls to win their group, it felt like we were the team of destiny. So when England was robbed of their first goal of the Cup, I couldn’t help but laugh. Welcome to our world. The English were quick to blame their loss on the ref’s even though they lost by THREE goals. Same goes with Mexico, too. When you lose by more than one goal, your credibility greatly decreases when you blame it on the refs. I can’t seem to recall the US players calling out the refs after their games: Do you? Unlike the MLB, you aren’t going to see FIFA admitting to these bad calls. Instead, FIFA has decided to censor all replays at the cup. At least this will postpone the riots another 90 minutes. FIFA surely doesn’t need bad publicity like this. If you’re wondering if referees with botched calls are still refereeing in South Africa, think again. FIFA is the Michael Corleone of the sporting world. There is no wiggle room for mistakes, mess up once and you’re out. No excuses. Good luck to the surviving ref’s in the matches to come.

And don’t forget the NBA. The dream Finals matchup between the Lakers-Celtics was overshadowed by a touch foul being called every 20 seconds. This is the league that can’t afford to have bad officiating, remember… Tim Donaghy. It was concluded that Donaghy didn’t fix games, but bet on games that were “essentially” fixed.  Meaning, he bet on teams/games when there was a biased official calling the game. And, I am sure the Maverick’s fans remember the 2006 Finals where Dwyane Wade averaged more free throws than the Mavericks team combined. I am surprised Danny Crawford is still allowed to call Mavs games at this point. An awful statistic is how the Mavs are 1-17 in PLAYOFF games when Crawford refs, and 4-14 against the spread. In the critical game 6 of the ’06 Finals where the Heat could clinch the series up 3-2, the Heat managed to sneak by in the end. To a casual NBA fan, this seems like it was an excellent game, coming down to the final possession but looking at the box score, not so much. In fact, the Mavs finished the game hitting 19-23 free throws, while the Heat finished 23-37 on free throws. To add to my point, Wade finished the game with 16-21 free throws BY HIMSELF, nearly equal to the Mavericks TEAM free throw total. As Tim Donaghy said in an interview, “Danny Crawford is proud of Dallas losses.” So maybe Cuban’s temper is justified after all. If Crawford fails to rid himself of this bias, I see a nice job at Foot Locker in his future.

I, for one am surprised to hear the media endorse instant replay in sports. Without bad calls, there is nothing to argue about, and when there is nothing to argue about, there is nothing to write about. So I’m not sure why the media endorses replay use but who knows. I will be the first to say that I am not a proponent of instant replay in sports. The NFL was the first of the major sports to allow challenges and replays in sports, but still have the occasional botched call. After all, if it wasn’t for Tom Brady’s “tuck rule” in 2002, you still may yet to see replay in sports. It just kills the integrity of the game. If we have replays after every bad call in sport, you might as well hire robots to officiate games, and save the officials the time and embarrassment.

/end rant

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O Tiger, Where Art Thou?

June 21, 2010 2 Comments

As I watched the beginning of the US Open on Sunday, it was hard not to think that this was Tiger’s day. With Tiger hitting a near impossible birdie on seven and the leader blowing six shots in four holes, it was Déjà Vu all over again. I don’t care who you are, but when you see Tiger in your rearview mirror, look out! (Objects in mirror are closer than they appear). It seems like in the past few majors Tiger has played, he has never quite finished the deal (finishing top six in seven of his past eight majors). It is no coincidence that Tiger has never won a major trailing going into the final day. Tiger just hasn’t been put in that situation enough. You can be quick to blame Tiger’s recent off-field events for his failure to win, but this has been happening for two straight years now. Every analyst was saying Tiger is approaching his prime, only to fall short of winning six straight times. Hard to think Tiger hasn’t supposedly reached his prime but we never know (see Tiger’s 2000 majors).

As we wait for Tiger to pass Nicklaus, here is one interesting stat for you: Nicklaus not only was the most major winner but most runners-up major winner as well. So Tiger finishing in the top five once again might not be such a bad thing (After all, this is only the 3rd tournament he has played in eight months). But then again, he is Tiger so there are no excuses.

And how great would it have been for Tiger to win on Father’s day. For those who are not familiar with Tiger, his dad was a significant influence in his life, and maybe the reason for his great success. So when I saw the new Nike commercial of Tiger’s dad talking to Tiger, I understood its significance. Ever since his dad died in 2006, Tiger has only managed to win two majors, and has never quite been the same.

For those who play or who have ever played, you know golf is not an easy sport. I will be the first to tell you, golf is not for the weak-minded. Tiger Woods would not be where he is today if it wasn’t for his mental toughness. With the skill set of Tiger’s, golf is more about him vs. himself rather than the rest of the field. Tiger will admit when he doesn’t play up to par, it is because of his lack of focus, not his lack of effort. Breaking a score of 100 is considered a great day for some and breaking 75 is considered a average day for Tiger.

Golf is also the one sport where when you do bad, you can’t win. Unlike other sports you can’t rely on your teammates to pick up the slack. You can’t tell me Kobe Bryant won game 7 of the finals with his 6-24 performance. I’m not an expert but it seems like it would be tough if Tiger won, only hitting the fairway on 25% of his drives. This makes Tiger’s past accomplishments all the greater. But maybe too great. Tiger said it himself, “I expect a “W” this weekend.” And don’t we all.

Unlike team sports, golf is not a sport where you consistently root for the underdog. Because lets be honest, you’re not going to hear the name Graeme McDowell any time soon. People root for greatness. Just like in the 90s’ with Jordan, you can’t help but want to witness greatness. You want to be able to tell your kids someday, that was the best golfer who ever played and I was a witness.

Being the best athlete of the 2000’s, Tiger has built great expectations for himself. At this point, when Tiger doesn’t win a major, I am very disappointed. I am spoiled by Tiger, the one who would flaunt his greatness on the course, the one who the entire field feared. I do believe Tiger is on his way back to this plateau, but my patience is growing thin. Not many players can finish fourth in consecutive majors and be told that he is having an off year.

As I was watching Tiger’s poor play on Sunday, I couldn’t help but remember the Tiger from past. The Tiger who would wear red on Sunday, the one who smelled blood from the other competitors. I didn’t see this Tiger yesterday. In fact, Tiger wore a black vest over his traditional Sunday red. Could this mean that he is becoming cautious of his play? The Tiger I knew never laid up to settle for par, the Tiger I knew tried for eagle on every hole. I blame the media for this! This off-field fiasco has taken away some of his competitive drive. Tiger is quickly recovering from his absence, but time is growing short. Any player would dream to finish top five in all the majors this year, but not Tiger. Tiger knows that without a “W“, he is not successful. Tiger’s interview summed it up best. When asked what positive thing he can take out of this weekend, Tiger replied, “Nothing at all.” That is the price of greatness; if you’re not first you’re last.

Never has an athlete revolutionized a sport like Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods put golf on the map, and without him it’s not nearly the same. Just ask the PGA, down 50 percent in ratings with the absence of Woods. The payouts in golf nearly doubled since Tiger’s debut on tour, not to mention the sponsors as well. Think about it, how often did you watch golf without Tiger? I don’t know about you, but I can safely say never.

So when you are sitting down watching Tiger, just ask yourself one question: Why do I play golf? Not all of you, but most will say because of Tiger Woods. I will admit I only buy Nike golf balls, wear Nike golf polo’s, and wear Nike golf shoes due to his influence. I am a consumer of the Tiger brand. I would much rather see Tiger win every tournament than some one-hit wonder. So it would be a shame to see Tiger finish anything but on top. With the Open Championship a few weeks away, I believe that Tiger is due for a victory. After all, St. Andrews is nowhere near the difficulty level that Pebble Beach was this weekend (and that is an understatement).

I gave you my support Tiger, so you can stop finishing fourth and take your seat upon your throne. As the Chinese New Year best illustrates, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.

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2010: The Year of the Pitcher

June 15, 2010 4 Comments

Pitcher's today are showing hitters no sympathy

In a year of three perfect games (Galarraga’s included) one thing can be said: pitchers are back. Coming off an era where 40 HR’s were considered an off year, there have been three perfect games and a no hitter within the first two months of the season. And two of the major league home run leaders are Jose Batista and Corey Hart. Enough said.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you how great Dallas Braden and Armando Galarraga are because they aren’t that overpowering. But they do have one thing in common: they know how to pitch. They might not have a 100 mph fastball with a knee-buckling curve but they know what to throw, when to throw it, and where to throw it. Even recently, Ted Lily almost threw a no-hitter. Last I checked, Ted Lily’s fastball still sat mid 80s, it’s not rocket science. Actually to top it off, Gavin Floyd was only a few innings away himself in the SAME GAME. Next thing I’m going to see is Jamie Moyer becoming the oldest pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter (heck, he has 20 more seasons to keep trying). Ok, not really but you get the picture.

As for the other class of pitchers: the Great ones. First of all, it should come to nobody’s surprise that Roy Halladay threw a perfect game. Let’s just say coming from the best hitting division in baseball to the worst might be a little bit of the reason. Not to mention, Roy Halladay is in the 1% group that know how to pitch AND have filthy stuff. Someone who is approaching this category is Ubaldo Jimenez. For those fantasy gurus out there, this name shouldn’t be new to you (I know, as I’m fortunate enough to have him on my team). Jimenez has THE best stuff in the league. When your fastball moves up to 6 inches at 99 MPH, good luck hitting it. As we approach the halfway point, Jimenez is on pace for one of the best pitching seasons of all time (flirting with Bob Gibson’s season best ERA 1.12). There have been many doubters on the Jimenez bandwagon, but with stuff like that: I’m a believer. Who would have thought, a pitcher could post a sub four ERA at Coors field, let alone a sub one.

To further prove my point, many of you are familiar with Stephen Strasburg. Arguably, the most hyped pitcher ever. Heck, ESPN had a pregame 9 hours before his first start, and it wasn’t even on ESPN. But Strasburg didn’t disappoint: striking out 14 in seven without issuing a walk. Even Roy Halladay would say that’s a damn good start. And if it weren’t for some fluke pitchers mound, he would be well on his way to duplicating this performance. Instead he would have to settle for five innings with eight strikeouts in his second outing (Poor Stephen). The hype for Strasburg has hit such extremes that he has influenced fan attendance, ON THE ROAD. This Strasburg Effect caused the Cleveland Indians to sell 33,000 tickets last Sunday when they have been averaging 15,000 for the season. Strasburg has failed to disappoint thus far, and with the stuff he has (100+ fastball for example), I don’t see this ending any time soon. To quote Curt Schilling, “When Stephen Strasburg comes into the league, he will be the best pitcher in the league.” The hype is real, folks.

In an era of pitch counts, you aren’t going to see any 300 win pitchers any time soon but at this rate you might not even see any 300 HR hitters any time soon. With this in mind, Where are the bats? Usual greats such as A-Rod, Pujols, and Howard are on pace for some of their career worst home run numbers. A-Rod is on pace for 22 homers, Pujols on pace for 36 homers, and Howard on pace for a mere 27 home runs. These numbers have to mean something is up. A soon to release 30 for 30 documentary mentions Griffey’s pace in 1994 as he hit is 30th home run on June 17th. He was on the fastest pace since Ruth. Even Bonds had 39 at the All-Star break during his record (tainted) season. Here is another mind blowing stat for you, the Toronto Blue Jays have more homers than the Twins and Dodgers combined. Who knows, hitting might be so prevalent that there aren’t any standouts this years. It might be the lack of performance enhancers, the aging hitters, or the fact that the pitchers are just that good, but 2010 has definitely been the year of the pitcher.

I have heard many theories on why hitting has died, from the dead ball theory to stricter drug policies to even stronger wind currents. Come to think of it, it has been unusually windy. So when you cast your vote for your All-Star team in the next coming weeks, don’t forget to write-in your pitcher votes. After all, they are the real All-Stars. In Baseball’s 164-year history, there have been 20 perfect games, five in the past six years. At this rate, expect at least two more perfect games for the rest of the season. Bye Bye Steroid Era, hello Pitcher’s Era.

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The World Cup for Dummies

June 7, 2010 14 Comments

USA Starting Eleven for the 2010 World Cup

To start out, I wouldn’t classify myself as a true soccer fan, but rather a casual one. I mean, this is America. The large variety of sports available in the U.S. makes soccer obsolete compared to other countries. The great American athletes/media usually focus on basketball, baseball, and football, leaving soccer in the distance. I will admit this is one of the few articles I had to do extensive research on so for the die-hards out there, bear with me.

If you have turned on ESPN in the last six months, you should know the World Cup starts this weekend. I know there are die-hard soccer fans who truly know the in’s and out’s of the World Cup, but chances are that most don’t. So with a few days left until the start of the Cup, here is my Idiot’s Guide to the biggest sporting event in the world. For those soccer aficionados expecting a detailed analysis of all the teams, then this may not be the article for you.

What you need to Know: 32 countries qualify for the Cup – with the top two teams from each pool entering a 16 single-elimination tournament (Ok, if you didn’t know this, you have much to learn). The host country this year is South Africa, the first time ever to have an African host country. If you thought the Super Bowl was big in ratings, the last World Cup had 715 million tuned in to see Italy take home the trophy. The standout favorites to win the Cup are Spain (4 to 1 odds) and Brazil (4 to 1 odds). Makes sense, given every World Cup Champion has either come from South America or Europe. For those of you who think the U.S. has a shot (50 to 1 odds), you are better off betting on the Houston Astros to win the pennant this year (and I don’t see any Angels in the Outfield this time). Being the stats man that I am, it is hard to ignore that 11 of the past 13 World Cup Finals either Brazil or Germany was the winner or runner-up. For those who don’t know the significance of this, this is like betting for the Celtics or Lakers to make the Finals in the ‘80s (or even now). It’s just easy money.

USA: Let’s be honest, all the casual fan truly cares about is the U.S.. If America exits the Cup early, so does half of ESPN’s viewership. With that in mind, I will attempt to breakdown the U.S. for the World Cup amateurs out there (myself included). Arguably, this is the best team the U.S. has had for the World Cup and with 50 to 1 odds to win, this isn’t saying much. However, with the best American player ever, Landon Donovan, and strikers, Dempsey and Altidore, the U.S. may be a nice underdog to watch. Not to mention, All-Star goalie, Tim Howard, who single-handedly is our defense. To start out, the U.S. got a very favorable draw in this year’s Cup with only the heavy-weight of England in their way. Those hard-core soccer fans will tell you, no matter how easy the match is, without good tournaments from Dempsey and Donovan, you can’t expect the U.S. to be in South Africa for long. This is the United States’ “no excuses” Cup. With a soft group and an improved team there is no reason not to advance to the field of 16. And if the U.S. makes it out of their group, they are primed to play Germany first round – and they are no slouch either. The U.S. might not have the skill set and experience of some of the elite, but they possess great chemistry. As you know, American athletes always believe they are good enough to win (After all, this is America). With the absence of speedy striker, Charlie Davies, the U.S. is going to have to rely on team chemistry more than ever. A player to watch/fill Davis’ shoes is speedy Herculez Gomez (quite possibly one of the coolest names ever). The best finish the U.S. has ever had in the World Cup was taking home 3rd in 1930. Since then, Soccer has taken a back seat in the U.S. ultimately due to their dead last finish in 1990. Thanks to the ESPN Hype Machine, Soccer is more prevalent than ever in the U.S. and is primed for a decent run at the Cup. If history tells us anything, it’s that the U.S. isn’t super consistent when it comes to the World Cup. As evident in the last World Cup, the U.S. typically plays a good game (1-1 tie with Italy), a mediocre game (2-1 loss to Ghana), and one terrible game (3-0 loss to Czech Republic). This year, they can’t afford a terrible game.

The Big Game: There is one game in the World Cup that is bigger than all the others. This is England vs. the United States. Last time there was a match-up of this significance, the U.S. was fighting off Great Britain for independence in the Revolutionary War. This time, they are fighting for respect amongst the soccer’s elite. And for those who have been to England, England would much rather lose a war than a World Cup soccer game. After all, Soccer in England is equivalent to every sport combined in the U.S. As I said earlier, the one knock on the U.S. is they lack the skill set and pedigree of England, but if past wins are any prediction, there is one thing that matters most: chemistry. By the start of the World Cup, the England team will have only played three games together and are losing players left and right (Rio Ferdinand, most recently). So a U.S. upset isn’t out of the question. If the U.S. can play the Brits like they did the Italians in the last World Cup (1-1 tie, who eventually went on to win it all), then I wouldn’t put a U.S. win past the realm of possibility. One of my favorite players, Steve Nash, has been a die-hard England fan and believes this England team is the best they’ve had since they won the Cup in 1966. Other than the superstar Wayne Rooney, Nash likes speedy Aaron Lennon to emerge as England’s number two. Just like the U.S. was able to pull off a HUGE upset against Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup, a win over England would bring out more American soccer fans. And let’s be honest, despite its economic and political dominance over many of the world’s countries, the United States still remains a third-world soccer country.

Stick’s Pick: I’m not going to sound like I truly have any confidence in my pick for the World Cup (because trust me if anyone does, they don’t know what they are talking about). But if I had to pick a team, I will take Argentina. For those of you who know my style, you know that I always love the team with the best player to win it all (See Cleveland Cavaliers). In this case, Lionel Messi is the LeBron James of the World Cup. He is hands down the best player with a mediocre supporting cast around him. He is coached by the wacky soccer legend, Diego Maradona, who holds the record for most goals in a single Cup. If Ozzie Guillen can win championships, I see no reason why Maradona can’t. I’m not saying Argentina will win for sure, but with the world’s best player, 6 to 1 odds doesn’t seem too bad. Argentina will have to get through the likes of Germany, and Spain just to make the final. So with that in mind, I love Argentina as my high-risk, high-reward pick. Like a LeBron or Jordan, if Messi somehow pulls out a World Cup for the ages, then I can definitely see Argentina returning with a first place trophy.

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Show The Kid Some Love

June 3, 2010 6 Comments

As I was preparing my World Cup article for next week, a sports tragedy occurred. No, it wasn’t the blown perfect game call by Jim Joyce (more on that later) but it was the retirement of one of the game’s all-time greats. This article has been years in the making and unfortunately I have been forced to write it prematurely. Make no mistake, you can’t find a bigger Griffey fan than me, so this retirement meant more to me than almost anyone. With that in mind, here is my tribute to one of the greatest outfielders to ever play the game.

Ken Griffey, Jr. never made himself out to be the flashy player in the media but in fact, went about his business quietly and efficiently. So it was no surprise that his retirement was overshadowed by one of the biggest blown calls in sports history. Griffey never wanted to be the center of attention. To add to this, when younger sports fans look back on baseball in the 1990’s, all that will come to mind is the Steroid Era. In an era where nearly every known great was somehow linked to steroids or HGH, Griffey’s name was never mentioned. Rick Reilly put it best,”With every PED confession, Ken Griffey, Jr. shines.” With such greats as Clemens, Bonds, A-Rod, Manny, McGwire, and Sosa linked to steroids, Griffey remains the best clean player of the era. Griffey was also one of the most beloved players to ever play the game. Perhaps it was his youthful smile, his great passion for the game, or simply because he played for a mediocre team. When some members of the media criticized Seattle for signing an aging Griffey, Seattle knew one thing, chemistry. Every player on Griffey’s team would tell you that he was the ultimate clubhouse guy. His coaches, teammates, fans, and the majority of the media respected him. Never did Griffey say the wrong thing, or call out his teammates for not performing.

Coming from baseball royalty (Ken Griffey, Sr.), Junior grew up in the dugout of the infamous Big Red Machine and had high expectations from day one. Drafted first overall out of Moeller High school, scouts were praising his name 10 times more than rookie phenom Jason Heyward (And that’s saying something). I have heard the case that what makes a great ballplayer is a great family. An example I’ve been meaning to share for some time involved the Houston Astros. In 1992, when the Astros had first overall pick, they chose Phil Nevin. At the time, a senior Astros scout truly believed that great players came from great families. He wasn’t convinced of Nevin’s potential, but instead was pushing for a player who many people know as Derek Jeter. Jeter came from a great, supportive family of athletes and had high praise from all the scouts. So when the time came, the Astros drafted Phil Nevin and this scout, having lost his influence in the organization, resigned. Astros fans: imagine having Derek Jeter instead of Phil Nevin during the Bagwell, Biggio era. Further examples of great sporting families were Bobby and Barry Bonds, Cecil and Prince Fielder and even Jellybean and Kobe Bryant. So when the son of Ken Griffey entered the league, he was expected to be one of the greatest.

When it comes to Griffey’s playing career, there are many “what-ifs.” In his 22 year Hall of Fame career, he only played 10 xs in seasons with 130 games or more. Griffey had 20 surgeries in the later stages of his career and was never able to regain full strength. In 2000, Griffey was on pace to shatter Hank Aaron’s home run record but instead, had to settle for only 630 home runs. For those who don’t fully realize how great an accomplishment this is, imagine hitting 40 home runs a year for 16 straight seasons (Pujols could only dream of this).

To list a few of Griffey’s remarkable accomplishments (and trust me there are many), he was a 13 time All Star (11 consecutively), 5th all time in home runs, 10 time consecutive Gold Glove winner, three time Home Run Derby winner, 2nd all time in outfield assists, 2 time All star MVP, and the title as “The Best Baseball Player of the 1990s.” With all these accomplishments, it is a shame he only has one MVP trophy (1997), but then again a player’s true worth can’t be judged by the number of MVPs (See Kobe Bryant). There is no doubt that if Griffey played in a more prominent media market, like New York or Boston, his legacy would have been exponentially greater (not to mention a few extra rings). Heck, I’ll go as far as to say if Griffey was center fielder for the Yankees in the late 1990s, he would have surpassed Mickey Mantle as the greatest Yankee center fielder (check both players stats if you doubt this). Also in 1999, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Roger Clemens were the only active players to be named to the MLB All Century Team (Griffey receiving the third most votes for a center fielder, only behind Mays and Mantle).

At my age of 22, I am deeply saddened to see Ken Griffey, Jr. retire after 22 seasons. All my life, I have grown up admiring Griffey, and I just can’t look at baseball the same without him. I was fortunate enough to attend Griffey’s Baseball Camp in Orlando, Florida at the age of 10 and was significantly influenced by the Kid himself. I was also fortunate enough to have dinner with Ken Griffey, Sr. and the family.  I tried every way possible to imitate Griffey’s perfect swing, but his swing will never be matched. There was not a single hitter in baseball history that looked as good hitting home runs as Griffey. Growing up, I owned everything that had Griffey’s name. Whether it was his four Nintendo video games, shoes, cleats, jerseys, baseball cards, memorabilia, I owned them all. To this day, I have still managed to hold on to a life-size cutout of Ken Griffey, Jr. that remains in my room. And you can’t tell me you were actually disappointed by the ending of “Little Big League” (For those who have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it). To further illustrate how big a fan I am of Griffey, I drafted him on my fantasy team this year and despite his absentee season, have still yet to drop him (I know). To top it off, I visited Seattle of all places on vacation. I’m sorry to Seattle fans when I say Seattle isn’t the most attractive place for vacation travel. The purpose of my trip to Seattle was solely to attend two Mariners-Rangers game at the old Kingdome. Recently, I attended the Rangers- Mariners series in early April of this year in Arlington, with the sole purpose of seeing Griffey. Little did I know this truly would be the last time I saw him play. I was adamant about being there two hours early to watch Griffey take batting practice and obtain a John Hancock on my jersey. Let me tell you one thing, Ken Griffey doesn’t easily hand out autographs. If it wasn’t for the three signed baseballs, rookie card and signed hat I already have of Griffey (from his baseball camp); I would have been severely disappointed with the results. I, however, did manage to snag a signed bat by Mike Sweeney but would easily trade this in even for a picture or acknowledgement from Griffey.

Normally I don’t endorse Bud Selig, but he put it best when it came to the retirement of Junior:

“Ken Griffey, Jr. will always be remembered for his picture perfect swing, for the grace in which he fielded his position, and for the youthful enthusiasm with which he played the game. He was one of the game’s greatest players and is surely deserving of a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.”

It is only fitting that the Great Ken Griffey, Jr. retired 75 years from the date (June 2nd) as the Great Bambino himself. I have heard a lot of commentary about how Griffey’s exit from the game wasn’t what he hoped for, but at least he knew when to hang it up (Unfortunately, I can’t say this for most players). A few years from now, Griffey will not be remembered for his injury-plagued last few years, but for his utter dominance in the 90′s. The only other athlete I could think who was as dominant as Griffey during this time was Michael Jordan. And lets just say, when you look back on Jordan’s career, you’re not even going to remember his last few seasons on the Wizards.

Now that I am finishing up my last few semesters of college, Griffey’s retirement seems a little more acceptable. Ken Griffey, Jr. was a big part of my childhood and as I prepare to enter the real world, I can properly say goodbye to Junior. There is no other athlete who has been a greater role model for me growing up and no other athlete with the class and youthful enthusiasm that Junior possessed. Junior was the ultimate selfless athlete. When Michael Wilbon asked Griffey about his great defense, Griffey commented that saving a run for his team in the outfield was just as great, if not greater, than hitting a home run. For those true baseball fans out there, you realize the great things Griffey did for the game of baseball and despite his downward spiral; he still went out on top. It is safe to say, I will be making a return trip to Cooperstown in 2015 for the induction of the one of the game’s all-time greats. Thank you Ken Griffey, Jr.

At age 10, Me and Griffey at Griffey's Baseball Camp.

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