Hitting The Cutoff Man

You surely know by now that Ken Griffey Jr. retired last week, ending his 22-year career with 630 home runs.

There are so many things to remember about Junior: the sweet swing, the backwards cap, the great catches in center field, and ultimately, the long decline. But what sticks in my mind most about him are two of those 630 bombs -- only one of which I saw.

With a little help from Baseball-Reference.com, I was able to confirm my memory of something which I think sums up Griffey pretty well.

It was July 21, 1996, I was nine years old, and the Mariners were playing a Sunday afternoon game in Anaheim to play the Angels. I had tickets to go to the game with my parents and my friend Chris, a huge Griffey fan. As so often happens in LA, we got stuck in some horrendous traffic and sat helplessly in the car, inching along toward the stadium as the game got started.

Sure enough, Griffey came up in the first inning (facing Jim Abbott, as I now see), and launched a three-run homer to right field. I distinctly remember us sitting in the car, listening to the game on the radio as this unfolded. Chris and I, being nine and huge fans, were crushed. Ken Griffey Jr., probably the premiere star of the day, had hit a home run and we'd missed it.

Well, eventually we got to the stadium and got to our seats. I don't really remember much about the game, but I do remember this: Griffey came up again, this time with all of us watching, and came through. It was his third at-bat of the game, and he smacked another homer to right off Abbott, this one a two-run shot. We were absolutely thrilled.

That was Ken Griffey Jr. in a nutshell. The guy just had a way of giving fans what they wanted, of making watching baseball a fun and fulfilling experience. Whether it was the sugary swing that evoked thoughts of The Natural or the exuberance that said, 'Hey, it's OK to look like you're having fun playing the game,' Griffey at his best was a joy.

Sure, the end was too long and awfully painful to watch, but that's not how I'll remember Griffey. I'll remember him as the guy who made a couple of kids awfully happy (and relieved) one summer day by doing what he did best: hit a baseball really, really hard.

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