The Best I’ll Ever See

In fifty years, when I’m talking to my grandson about the game of baseball, I will tell him, without hesitation that “Ken Griffey Jr. was the best baseball player I ever saw.”  Like my father with Mays and his father with DiMaggio, I will tell him, “I consider myself lucky just to have seen him play.”

He had the purest, most beautiful swing I’ve ever seen.  He was the best defensive centerfielder in the game during his prime.  He was one of the fastest players in baseball.  He was elected to the 20th Century’s All-Century Team before the age of 30 and, without injuries, would have been the only player elected to two All-Century teams.  He lived with a smile on his face, but would cut someone’s heart out to win a game.  And, he did all of this in a era of narcissism and egocentricity.

But, most importantly of all, he put up these numbers (630 home runs that would have been well over 800 had he not suffered an inordinate number of injuries–including 449 before his thirtieth birthday) in the HEART of the Steroid Era and has never, EVER been linked IN ANY WAY to performance-enhancing drugs. 

Sammy Sosa did drugs to hit home runs; Junior did it naturally.  Mark McGwire did drugs to recover from injuries; Junior realized that injuries were part of the game and accepted his plight with class and dignity.  Andy Pettitte did drugs because he was curious; Junior knew it was cheating.  Alex Rodriguez did drugs because, well, everyone else was doing it; Junior worried about the harm to his body and reputation.  Barry Bonds did drugs so that America would love him; Junior won admiration and adoration the old-fashioned way–with charm and warmth that exceeded even his off-the-charts athletic talents.

Ken Griffey, Jr., is not the best clean player I’ll ever see.  He’s THE best player I’ll ever see, who also just happened to be clean during the dirtiest era in the history of professional sports.

Thank you, Junior, for giving me the privilege of watching you play baseball.  I hope your post-playing days are even half as successful, on and off the field, as your days in the sunshine.