The Griffeys
Ken Griffey, Sr. was a career .296 hitter in his 19 MLB seasons, many during his 2 stints with the Cincinnati Reds.  He hit 152 home runs and was selected to 3 All Star games, while winning 2 World Series rings.  Son, Ken Jr., is widely regarded as the player with the sweetest pure swing in baseball history.  Griffey, Jr. may have ended his career as the all-time leader in home runs had he not been worn down by injuries.  He finished with 630 home runs (6th all time), 2,781 hits, and 1,836 RBIs (15th all time).  "Junior" was a 13-time All Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, 7-time Silver Slugger, 1997 AL MVP, 3-time Home Run Derby champ, and a member of the MLB All-Century team for the 1900s. 

Here's a good flashback of the Griffeys that most people forgot about:

COMPLETE ARTICLE (ThePostGame.com)

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Batting Stance Guy pays ode to Reds' batters past and present...

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After 22 years Ken Griffey Jr. decided to hang up the cleats on Tuesday, retiring from baseball.

Easily one of the greatest players ever to play the game, Griffey is a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer.

"I've come to a decision today to retire from Major League Baseball as an active player," Griffey said in a prepared statement. "This has been on my mind recently but it's not an easy decision to come by. I'd like to thank the Seattle Mariners organization for allowing me to finish my playing career where it started."

Griffey had seen his playing time drastically reduced in recent weeks, a factor that appears to have contributed to his decision.

"While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office is asking me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction," Griffey said. "I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be."

I will never forget February 12, 2000. It was day that supposed to go down as one of the greatest days in Reds history. It was on this day the team announced they had traded for Junior. The Kid returned home.

Injuries would prevent him from making the impact the city and franchise longed for and would derail Junior from chasing Hank Aaron’s all-time homerun record.

Still, you can’t deny his place in history and I am grateful to have followed him for the past two decades.

Here’s a look at some of his final stats…

.284 BA, 630 HR (5th all-time), 1,836 RBI

--11 Gold Gloves
--13 All-Star Games
--1 AL MVP

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Here's a great fan tribute to Ken Grifey Jr, who retired on Wednesday after 22 seasons...

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At 40 years old, the end appears to have arrived for Ken Griffey Jr.  With the future Hall of Famer struggling to stay above the Mendoza line and reportedly falling asleep in the clubhouse during games, many around the Mariners’ organization are regretting bringing back the veteran for one more year.

He returned to Seattle last year in what appeared to be the perfect curtain call. Though he only batted .208 he did manage to jack 19 longballs and hit 57 RBI while giving the Mariners’ fans one last chance to say goodbye.

The only problem is Griffey didn’t say goodbye. He came back for yet another season. The Mariners seemed to be early favorites in the AL West after a busy offseason that included acquiring ace Cliff Lee and signing free agent Chone Figgins. The signings have not translated into wins though and the fans are not happy.

An article in the Tacoma News-Tribune on Monday stated that the Mariners “are going to ask Junior to retire gracefully. If he doesn’t, the end of Griffey’s career will come, anyway – by way of a release from the Seattle Mariners.  All that is going to happen, probably this month.”

Griffey denied the reports on Tuesday and answered the suggestion that his the end is going to come sooner rather than later.

Griffey's response to the possibility of retiring was a firm, "No."

As for what might make him consider not playing out the season, he said, "I'll figure it out if I get to that point."

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Here's a great read on Ken Griffey Jr. from the Seattle Times' Steve Kelley:

Ken Griffey Jr. has done everything he could for the 2009 Mariners since he signed in March.

He has been the godfather to the parade of young players who have come into the clubhouse. He has been a close friend to the veterans. He has offered advice on pitchers' and hitters' tendencies.

His durability has been his problem this season. Griffey hasn't been able to stay in the lineup. He can't play the outfield anymore. Often he has been reduced to pinch-hitting.

Griffey, who will be 40 at the start of next season, hasn't gotten the 500-plus at-bats that were hoped for when he signed. Entering Tuesday night's game he was hitting .221, with 14 home runs and 43 runs batted in, in 373 plate appearances.

I wish Junior, like every great athlete, could run forever. I wish he still could be in the outfield on perpetual patrol.

But it's time to go.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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Ken Griffey Jr. had a change of heart at the last minute and opted to sign a 1-year, $2 million deal to return to Seattle rather than head to Atlanta. 

The move was the right one to make for Griffey. He could have went to Atlanta and played in the same town where his daughter plays basketball. Spent spring training is his city of residence, Orlando, and been a hop, skip, and a jump (less than a hour flight) to his home. Instead, he returns to the place where it all began, the place where he became one of the best players in the century where he will get a chance to finish with the team who he will represent when he is enshrined into Cooperstown in six years or so.

Griffey's return to Seattle seems like a happy ending that we seldom see in the 21st Century version of professional sports. The city embraced him in an amazing fashion when returned their for the first time as a Red during Interleague play a couple years ago and they are ready to embrace him once again.

Former Mariner and current MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds had a big hand in recruiting Junior back to Seattle, according to the Seattle Times. He acted all week as a liason between the club and Griffey, including hooking up Hall of Famer Willie Mays to talk with Junior about returning to his roots.

Apparently, what the Say Hey Kid had to say hit the mark, because it was not too much longer before Griffey himself called Armstrong — who had just landed back in Seattle — to give him the good news.

"Ken said it was a legacy thing," Mariners' team president Chuck Armstrong said. "When he talked to Willie, that was the word he used — legacy, and what it meant to him and the Giants, and what Junior means to this franchise. He told him that would live on long after his own lifetime, and Ken's lifetime."

Pretty cool stuff. I will miss seeing Griffey visit the Great American Ballpark like he would've had if he signed in Altanta, but missing him will be well worth it.

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Just days after speculation that a return to Seattle was imminent, Ken Griffey Jr. may be heading to Atlanta instead.

ESPN.com reported on Saturday that " two baseball sources said early Saturday that the Braves are making a late play for Griffey and have begun discussing money with his agent.

"We have interest in several available outfielders, including Griffey," Braves general manager Frank Wren told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution later Saturday. 

The interest is apparently mutual. Griffey lives in Orlando, Fla., where Atlanta's spring training site is located, and has a good relationship with Braves manager Bobby Cox.

Griffey would also be willing to split time with Matt Diaz in left field for the Braves, sources said.

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We start our off-season Hot Stove talk with a look at the week's latest headlines...

WHITE SOX DANGLIG DYE
Lance McAlister of 1530 Homer the Sports Animal discussed some trade rumors on his Tuesday involving the Reds and White Sox. McAlister's source says the White Sox initiated talks to send Jermaine Dye to the Reds for Homer Bailey and another player.  Ken Rosenthal says Dye's no-trade clause mostly covers teams in the northeast.  Perhaps the Sox can trade him to the Reds without his consent.  Ken Williams and Walt Jocketty matched up in July on the Ken Griffey Jr. trade.  It's known that Jocketty prefers trades to free agency.

ANGELS MAKING PITCH TO SABATHIA
The L.A. Times reports that the Angels have begun contract discussions with C.C. Sabathia. The authors believe the Halos could make an offer in the range of Johan Santana's six-year, $137.5MM deal. If the Angels do make such an offer, you have to imagine the Yankees will respond by upping their bid significantly. Despite the talks for Sabathia, Mark Teixeira remains the Angels' top priority.  They haven't made an offer yet, but Scott Boras seems to want ten years while the Angels are willing to do seven.

FURCAL DRAWING PLENTY OF INTEREST
Despite his durability concerns, free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal is one of the hottest names on the market. His return to the Dodgers seems unlikely and the A's appear to be the front-runners after rumors of a 4-year, $48 million offer, however their his a third "surprise team" that is believed to me in the mix.  Furcal is not only a stellar defensive option at shortstop, but when healthy he is one of the best leadoff men and baserunners in the game.  The Giants apparently are out of the running for his services. WFAN in New York reports that they have agreed to terms with Edgar Renteria on a two-year, $18 million contract. Renteria became a free agent when the Tigers declined his $12 million option for 2009 and reportedly will now replace Omar Vizquel in San Francisco. 

GRIFFEY'S AGENT SAYS ALL TALK, NO ACTION
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on his blog that Brian Goldberg, Ken Griffey Jr.s' agent, said he's been in contact with nine teams -- six AL teams, three NL teams. Nothing is close. Goldberg's theory is things will pick after Dec. 1. That's when club must offer arbitration to their free agents. Players have until Dec. 7 to accept. If a player refuses, a club gets compensation for him if he's A or B. The former Reds' outfielder doesn't appear set to retire.

CUBS OUT OF THE MIX FOR PEAVY
After resigning Ryan Dempster last week Cubs' manager Lou Piniella believes that the Cubs' pitching is set. When asked if the Cubs still might be pursuing starting pitching, such as the Padres' Jake Peavy or free agent Randy Johnson, even after the Ryan Dempster signing Pinellas told the Chicago Sun Times, ''No. Starting we don't need. We're set. We've got six good starters [including Sean Marshall], and they're all experienced. Getting Dempster back was the key. We're in good shape with our starting pitching. Bullpen-wise, [we're looking for] possibly one more experienced pitcher. We've got a lot of young kids out there.''

METS LOOKING TO BOLSTER BULLPEN
Mets' GM Omar Minaya today began reaching out to the agents for free-agent closers Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, according to SI.com. The Mets are intent on landing an elite closer after their bullpen was the main culprit in their second straight September disappointment. It is believed Rodriguez is favored slightly over Fuentes, but they consider either pitcher an excellent candidate to take injured closer Billy Wagner's spot.

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The Chicago White Sox are in the dead middle of the tightest race in baseball, the AL Central. The Sox entered Saturday with 1.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins with 22 games left to play. It's been an exciting season in the Southside, but the excitement may now turn to panic as news broke yesterday that stud outfielder and MVP-candidate Carlos Quentin may be loss for the season due to a broken wrist.

Quentin, who currently leads the AL with 36 HRs and has 100 RBI's on the season, will have surgery next week. A screw will be inserted into the wrist, and he will be re-evaluated in two-to-three-weeks.

The Chicago Sun-Times said that Quentin's season is "in jeopardy" and while the White Sox could conceivably get him back in time for the playoffs in October, his regular season -- and therefore, his Fantasy season -- is likely over. The White Sox will have options, including moving Ken Griffey Jr. from center to left field. And Nick Swisher could move back to center.

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