Great Kid! & Imperfect Game

The Kid is retired and 40 years old. Where did the years and the 630 HR's go? I'm old enough to have seen some of the games greatest outfielders Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Frank Robby and Yaz could play some hardball.

Ken Griffey Jr. will join that bunch in Cooperstown and I think he's the best player of last 20 years. In Griffey's prime there wasn't a thing he couldn't do. How bout back to back years of 56 HR, 147 RBI and 56 and 145.  He hit with power, he hit for average (.284 career) and he could have swiped 40-50 bases a year if he wanted to.

His Glove was solid Gold, remember that wall-crashing, wrist breaking catch he made at the old Kingdome against the Orioles on Memorial Day weekend in 1995?  They didn't give Jr those 11 Gold Gloves he earned every one of them.

Father time and injuries left him baseball bankrupt in the end.  Tomorrow I'll forget he went away with zero homers and a .184 average. Forever I'll remember the kid with the beautiful smile who made such a difficult game look easy.

George Kenneth Griffey Jr. how I admired your work!

--Round 2---

A near perfect game in an imperfect world.  Tigers pitcher Armando Gallarraga was perfect, first base umpire Jim Joyce was human. All the replays I've seen show that Jason Donald was out at first base and Galarraga had the 3rd perfect game of the season. Joyce didn't see it like the rest of us and called Donald safe ending the perfecto and the no-hitter.

I feel terrible for Galarraga who showed a ton of class by reacting with dismay but not malice. A bad call cost an ordinary pitcher a once in a lifetime extraordinary highlight.  

I also feel bad for Jim Joyce, it appears he missed the call and missed it bad.  Joyce, who's been a major league umpire for nearly 25 years, has worked all-star games, playoff games and World Series so he's one of the best at what he does.

From this day forward the rest of his resume won't matter. For most fans he'll always be the imperfect umpire in what should have been a perfect game.      Talk to you on the Fan, Scott