Ken Griffey Jr.

[fredtoast]

One of the greatest moves ever by any Cincinnati sports team.  I still remember how excited I was when we got him.  Shame his years here were mostly marred by injury, but he was still a joy to watch.  Big congratulations to him for making the Hall of Fame.  Because of his dad I was a big fan of Junior even before he was a Red.

The thing about Griffey was not just how great he was. But how easy he made it look.  He was not that big and powerful and it did not even look like he was trying to crush the ball, but he could hit it to the moon with that smooth easy swing.  When he was running full speed in the outfield it looked like he was gliding, and he had a cannon arm that made ridiculous throws look simple.

Even though he was injured a lot here, it could be argued that he was the most talented athlete ever to play in Cincinnati.

[ElkValleyBengal]

In terms of pure athletic talent I'd probably have to go with Deion Sanders, though he obviously didn't play that long for Cincy. I too remember how excited I was upon learning of Griffey's acquisition. Even though his numbers with the Reds would certainly be upper echelon compared to most, his stay there was near tragic. He definitely made the Hall based on his stint in the Emerald City.

[Goalpost]

Congrats to Griff. Unfortunate he was cursed with injuries here.

In 13 years with Seattle, Griff created an offensive WAR of 63.5, and a defensive WAR of 8.5
In 9 years with Cincinnati, Griff created an offensive WAR of 20.1, and a defensive WAR of -7.5

My greatest 'athlete' to play for the Reds was Eric Davis. In one 3 year span he hit 90 HR's and stole 165 bases while being caught a mere 20 times. An argument could be made for little Joe also.

[*jason*]

Griffey and Bonds are the best baseball players that I ever saw play in my lifetime.

[McC]

Congrats to Junior.

My question is who are the three assholes who didn't vote for him? Is this another one of MLB's moronic codes left from 150 years ago? This is another reason why baseball keeps losing fans.

[fredtoast]

(01-07-2016, 10:10 AM)jason Wrote: Griffey and Bonds are the best baseball players that I ever saw play in my lifetime.

X2

[RoyleRedlegs]

(01-07-2016, 10:25 AM)McC Wrote: Congrats to Junior.  

My question is who are the three assholes who didn't vote for him?  Is this another one of MLB's moronic codes left from 150 years ago?   This is another reason why baseball keeps losing fans.

They are probably 3 very old people who just have a problem with unanimous voting.

[Yojimbo]

I wish his years here had been better, so he could go in the Hall as a Red.

[Vas Deferens]

Listened to the game where he tied the record for consecutive games homer streak with my grandfather (he was a huge Twins fan). Remember it all quite vividly. Thanks for that memory Griff.

[Hoofhearted]

(01-07-2016, 10:10 AM)jason Wrote: Griffey and Bonds are the best baseball players that I ever saw play in my lifetime.

Griffey had the smoothest swing...boy did the ball pop off his batt.

[*jason*]

(01-07-2016, 03:51 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: They are probably 3 very old people who just have a problem with unanimous voting.

Well, we know two of them voted for David Eckstein....

[grampahol]

(01-07-2016, 05:30 AM)ElkValleyBengal Wrote: In terms of pure athletic talent I'd probably have to go with Deion Sanders, though he obviously didn't play that long for Cincy. I too remember how excited I was upon learning of Griffey's acquisition. Even though his numbers with the Reds would certainly be upper echelon compared to most, his stay there was near tragic. He definitely made the Hall based on his stint in the Emerald City.

Sanders while a good athlete was hardly the best athlete to play baseball in Cincinnati. He never hit over 300 except one season with the Braves. He could have been potentially one of the greats, but he split his time between baseball and football. Fast? Sure..but not the greatest baseball player to play with the Reds..
I'd go with Pete for overall greatest athlete to put on a Reds uniform.
Griffy was a great player as well, but his best years were definitely in Seattle.. I was actually a much bigger fan of Sr when he was with the Reds, but then again I was a kid and had his autograph on my glove. At 14 or however old I was at the time having your favorite player's sig on your glove was the nirvana of being a fan and kid.. That glove is still out there somewhere. I think the last I saw it my son had it, but the ink was completely worn off by then..
I just got to thinking of how great it was to have an old glove so soft and worn that just about any ball to touch it would stick to the pocket with that nice loud POP! At my age now it would probably break every bone in my hand to catch a fastball with it being how thin the padding became over the years.. There are just some memories that never leave like having the old glove and knowing that the ball wasn't going to pop out like it does with a newer glove.. I don't even know what a glove like that would cost today..back then it was probably like $8 or something.. What do real leather gloves go for these days?