Griffey in the Home Run Derby?

I know that because I saw Dunner was on it.

I don’t know if they have it written anywhere explicitly, but I don’t think there’s been a case of a player competing in the derby who wasn’t elected to the all-star game.

Campaigning for non-Nationals has been suspended until I resolve the Rolen/Zim issue with Brendanukkah.

Again, my proposal. If Zim outperforms Rolen in DC, y’all stop the Rolen love for a man who might be able to stop David Wright. If Rolen out performs Zim, you guys can pick a reasonable ballot for me going forward that I can rationally defend to the rest of the world.

I would also be willing to entertain a side wager with mister Brendanukkah not to exceed $9.00, aka the cost of a beer at the Red Loft in Nats Park.

This year is what would’ve happened if Willie Mays had decided he wanted to play another year even after his awful final year with the Mets. Junior hit .214/.324/.411 last year and then decided to come back for another year (he’s at .186/.252/.206 this year). Mays went to the Mets for about half a season before his final year and hit a very respectable .267/.411/.446 before putting up the infamous .211/.303/.344 line in his final season. I really don’t think there’s been a worse player in baseball this year than Junior, and I hate to see him go out like that. Putting him in the derby would highlight the fact that he’s completely done, not give him a last hurrah, and I don’t want the last two significant memories of Junior to be him sleeping in the clubhouse and him getting shut-out in the homerun derby. He needs to do everyone a favor and hang them up, not stubbornly act like he can still play baseball while also showing more or less total apathy towards his failure in that regard. He’s hurting his team on and off the field at this point, and because of his legendary status, the Mariners really can’t do anything but try to nudge him towards retirement.

I love Ken Griffey, Jr. He was my childhood hero. He was a lefty who had fun playing the game, just like me. I will never forget how excited I was when he signed with the Reds. I admit that I cried a few tears when he was traded. Like muffins said, when your hero plays for your team, that’s a special memory.

When you factor in his dad and the reservoir of the goodwill that the Big Red Machine brought, it’s hard to dislike Griffey if you’re a true Reds fan.

Parallel situation may be Joe Gibbs II for my Washington Redskins. Objectively, the record wasn’t all that great and he may have left the roster in worse shape than when he arrived. But there were still highlight moments while he was here that reminded us of the good ’ole days when we were a force in the NFC East. And we are very good at mental contortions to blame all the problems on Snyder and Vinny than on Joe and his weaknesses in adjusting to the modern game.

I’ve said many times before that the day we traded for Griffey was one of the best days of my life as a sports fan. Not much has come close to that feeling.

And souldrummer, chew on this. Griffey, Dunn, and Kearns were meant to be the Reds outfield for a decade. They were going to lead us to unimagined glories. Oh well.

      the machine. As a Reds fan since 77’ (trade for the greatest pitcher), I had been
telling a friend who was a big Mariners fan that Griffey was going to come home to Cincy
for about a year. The deal happened and his call was basically " I’m pissed ! I can’t
believe this has happened and Seattle’s front office are a bunch of MORONS !! I’m
never watching baseball again " I was giddy at the prospect of Junior running down
doubles in the gaps and bombing from the three hole. Great 1st year, then the nicks and
hammy kicked in.
     GO REDS !!!!!

I, for one, definitely got more than frustrated with him at points during his tenure. I yelled, I bitched, I moaned. We were hardly a loving fanbase, even here at RR. All that behind us, though, I have no regrets about him coming over here at all.

What would be sad if, if asked, he’d actually accept.