I remember being a Ken Griffey Jr. fan since he came up in the Mariners organization in 1989. The combination of having a baseball card that read “The Kid” and me being the Little League player of the year out of Hesperia California while playing for the Mariners, got me to pay attention to Junior.
Throughout his career a true sense of stardom was formed before my eyes. I followed him through his MVP season in 1997 and the home run race against McGwire and Sosa even though he was the least thought of in the race. Ken Griffey Jr. was my favorite player on my favorite team and he had collected many fans that placed him on the same pedestal.
Another baseball card I had was with Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds sharing the same type of bloodline connections. Both of their fathers were Major League Baseball players and I liked seeing that as well. So, I started to follow Bonds a little bit and he quickly became my second favorite player.
I would have loved to keep the same feeling I had for Bonds as I had for Junior, but it was not the case after all the steroid connection started coming out. Once it was pointed out and we all realized that Bonds was likely apart of the steroid problem in baseball, I began to realize how much I respect Griffey Jr.
Now we have mention of both my favorite players of all time in the same house talking about Bonds’ plight to take steroids. This day in the Griffey home will be in my memory for the rest of my days. Even though I have lost a lot of respect for Bonds on my own account, I still have mad respect for the way he plays the game. As I am still a huge fan of both of these players, I see the difference and it is right in front of our eyes.
Ken Griffey Jr. was allegedly approached by Bonds as he was just starting to think about taking steroids. It is all but obvious that Griffey chose a different route. After all, it was Junior that was in the home run race in 1997 and 1998. And it is reported that Bonds was jealous of not gaining as much exposure. But Griffey was closer to the top than Bonds at that time and the idea of steroids was shared to him.
So why did Griffey stay away? Was it for a lack of trust that he may have had with Bonds? Was it for the fear of getting caught? Or maybe it was for the fear of harming his body. I choose to think that it is a combination of the latter with the need to do the right thing.
People may have some harsh feelings for Griffey Jr but all the respect in the world has to be given his direction due to his ability to “just say no.” How is he not viewed as a bigger role model than he already is? This guy can be the face of Major League Baseball with another few good seasons. The one guy who had the steroid controversy flashed in his face in his home on the eve of its existence and chose to stay away from it. Griffey Jr deserves a lot of credit and he will go down as one of the most positive additions to the sport.
We are allowed to doubt any of this to be true, I am merely speaking of many unproven facts. But I am implying my opinion on this and if it is not clear already, the opinion is that Junior Griffey’s legacy should not go down because of his injury plagued seasons. He should be praised for his ability to do the right thing and not compromise the integrity of the sport. My hat is off to you once again Mr. Griffey.