Old 24 is Back

 
I just thought I’d throw my two cents in on the return of Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mariners.  No, I’m not going to break down his impact on the club, his potential numbers or likelihood of a healthy season.  The folks over at USSMariner will probably do a more insightful job of that than I can.

I will say though, as a kid of the 90′s, Griffey was the standard.  His was the baseball card you’d gladly trade half your collection to get.  You could find his jersey on the rack at every sporting goods store across America.  Some guys just look right in a certain uniform, and to see Junior donning the old blue and silver 24 again will be a great thing.

We did cross paths once during my baseball career.  It was in 2000, my first year with the Milwaukee Brewers Grounds Crew.  After a Reds-Brewers game ended late on a school night, I was walking through the old basement of Milwaukee County Stadium and passed Griffey on my way out.  He gave me the head nod and “what’s going on”.  I had only worked a few months in pro baseball at the time, so it was one of the early moments I remember feeling that I had arrived.

So, stay healthy Junior.  Climb up that all-time home run ladder a few more rungs.  But if you do get injured, come rehab in Clinton.

-DL