There's a lot of sentimentality in sports. Fans cringe when players like Brett Favre wind up wearing different uniforms than the ones they are used to seeing them in. Favre looked, for lack of a better term, wierd wearing the colors of the New York Jets. Just like Joe Montana looked starnge wearing the colors of the Kansas City Chiefs. Just like former White Sox great Frank Thomas looked out of place wearing an Oaklnad Athletics or Toronto Blue Jays uniform.
When great players like these wind up changing teams, it isn't strange to hear fans say something to the effect of "I wish he was back." It's happened many times over the years, with many different athletes in a lot of sports. Sometimes the fans get their wish (with the results being decidedly mixed). Most times they don't.
The fans of the Seattle Mariners are getting their wish. Ken Griffey Jr. has re-signed with the club after nearly a decade away from his old stomping grounds. It's not a big money deal, and it only runs for a year, but Griffey is back where a lot of people both in and out of Seattle think he belongs.
There was a time when Junior was baseball. He was The Kid, The Natural, or whatever nickname you wanted to bestow on him. He was the can't miss prospect who didn't miss. He helped put the Mariners on the map. In case you didn't know, the Mariners struggled for most of their first twenty years in Major League Baseball. They were that era's version of the Washington Nationals. Griffey helped transform them into a contender.
He didn't do it alone, of course. he had help with Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, and Jay Buhner amonst others. But Junior was the straw that stirred the drink. He was not only a great hitter, but he was a great defensive player as well. He could make you ooh and aah with any catch that he made while patroling the expansive centerfield in the Kingdome.
But that was a long time ago. Junior left Seattle after 1999, approving a trade to the Cincinnati Reds, where his father played for so many years (and the city he grew up in). He hasn't been the same player since than (injuries and age have made sure of that). The Mariners aren't the same team they used to be.
They haven't quite gone back to what they were when they first came onto the scene as an expansion team in the late 1970's, but they aren't good. Heck, they won 61 games a year ago. It was a season that caused Mariners management to fire the GM, the manager, and the interim manager.
Make no mistake, the Mariners are starting over. They hired a new GM and manager. Their lineup has many holes, and their pitching staff has a lot of question marks. But that's all been forgotten. Mariners fans have either forgotten, forgiven, or just plain don't care that Junior asked out after the '99 season. Everyone in Seattle is ecstatic to have him back. The feeling in the Pacific Northwest is that the prodigal son is returning
Sure, Junior would fill the hole left by Raul Ibanez (now with the Phillies), but Mariners fans should (and eventually will) realize they aren't getting the 28-29 year old Griffey they had ten years ago. This edition of Junior is 39 (turning 40 in November). This edition of Junior, much like my 1998 Toyota Corolla, has seen its better days.
Since playing in 145 games (and hitting an un-Junior like .271) in 200, Griffey has played in 140 or more games just once (2007, when he hit .277 with 30 HR's and 93 RBI's). Outside of the 2007 season, Junior was a big disappointment with the Reds, either not being able to stay healthy or not producing like the young Junior when he was. It got to the point that the Reds dealt him to the White Sox without really getting much in return. And the Griffey that played with the White Sox didn't look like he even wanted to be there.
Junior isn't magically going to return to Seattle and be the Junior of old. Even though the word is he's 100% healthy after off-season surgery. And even though the word is that he's dropped a little bit of weight and looks like the old Junior, the in prime Griffey is gone, probably never to be seen again. If he hits .260 again (like he did with the White Sox), what are Mariner fans going to say? Are they going to take it easy on him or are they going to turn on him?
Griffey (and Mariners fans) should look to history to see what his future might be. The New York Rangers brought Mark Messier back in 2001 after letting him go to Vancouver a few years earlier. There was a lot of goodwill at the news conference announcing his return. But, the goodwill didn't last long. The Messier that returned to the Rangers was a far cry from 'The Captain' that led them to the Stanley Cup in 1994. This Messier was old, had trouble staying healthy, and wasn't quite the player he used to be. By the time he retired in 2004, Ranger fans were more than ready for him to leave.
It seems as if Ken Griffey Junior and the Seattle Mariners paid little attention to the Messier episode. Or, maybe they forgot how un-Police-like The Police were when they reunited a couple of years ago (they weren't nearly as good as they used to be either).
It sounds good, but putting the band back together doesn't always work out.
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