You know how they like to say that some players eat, drink and sleep baseball?
Well, it looks like Ken Griffey, Jr. took the sleeping part a bit too literally.
According to a report from the Tacoma News Tribune , Griffey missed an opportunity to pinch hit at a game last week because he was sleeping in the clubhouse.
So Junior was asleep at the wheel of the SS Mariner ship gone astray? More bad news in a season that, so far, has failed to live up to Seattle fans expectations.
Maybe it’s time to quit calling him “The Kid.” Griffey is, after all, 40-years-old. In fact, maybe it’s just time that he quit, period.
It’s always kind of sad when you see the great players not knowing when it’s time to say goodbye. Memories of an aging Willie Mays playing for the Mets as a shadow of his former self are painful. Likewise, watching Griffey was tough enough lately, and now this.
While wondering why they didn’t simply wake him up, this whole thing could have been avoided if players like Griffey knew when it was time to call it a career.
Well, easier said than done —it’s a difficult thing for a former star player to accept. All his life, he’s been told how great he was. Now he’s being told that he just can’t do it anymore.
The truth can be a wicked stepmother at times.
Griffey is batting .205/.265/.234 this season with only two extra-base hits and zero home runs for a last-place Mariners club that is in a tough position with a guy who started his career with the team, playing tremendously from 1989-1999.
It would be so much easier if he would retire. Instead, they may have to release him.
Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu refused to divulge Griffey’s transgressions.
Look, I don’t care how great a player the man once was, you send a bad message to your players by covering up for him. Meanwhile, the reason shouldn’t matter either. It was reported that a teammate claims that Griffey hasn’t been sleeping well at home.
Perhaps he has too much money stuffed under his mattress?
Griffey has made about $100 million in this game, so it certainly shouldn’t be money keeping him away from retirement.
As for the M’s, it’s hard to fathom why you would want a guy like him around at all. He’s not hitting and even his famed positive clubhouse persona has now taken a hit.
I mean, he’s not exactly setting a good example for the younger players, is he?
All good things come to an end, and the Griffey express seems to be at the end of the line.
Someone please nudge him, so he doesn’t miss the last stop.
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