Junior Should Go to Seattle or Go From the Game

The Chicago White Sox have predictably decided to let Ken Griffey Jr. walk out of town as a free man. Griffey’s stay in the Windy City won’t ever do much more than draw comparisons of Willie Mays playing for the Mets. It’s guarunteed to be an overused analogy. But maybe this story has some type of happy ending.

Kenny Griff should hope for a return to Seattle or retire. No contending team is going to want Griffey out there for any regular period of time in 2009. Future Hall of Famer yes, but fading fast. It is obvious to anyone who has watched Griffey the past few years; and I know he played well in 2007. However, Griffey hasn’t been the old Griffey since at least 2000. It’s been almost a decade since we saw anything close. The only question left is if Griffey is a good fit for a young, rebuilding team. You know what? He would do enough in a Seattle uniform playing in the yard that was built for him to spark some fan interest in a team that is not going to be very good next season. It would be a smart move by the Seattle franchise and Griffey could be had at a reasonable price on a one year deal with a chance to prove he can still play.

As a baseball fan, we’re not entirely ready to say goodbye to Griffey. You always thought with Griffey that he’d have one final season where you knew it was his final season and that was it. He would ride off into the sunset, maybe homering in his final game. Something Griffey-esque to remember him by. Lets just hope he doesn’t end up like George Jung–left out in the cold on the last day of summer, with no more white horses and no more pretty ladies.