Ken Griffey Jr. announces retirement

Today, Ken Griffey Jr. announced his retirement from professional baseball. Griffey was hitting just .184 this season as age and injuries had continued to take their toll on the one-time feared hitter. Griffey also had zero home runs this season. Over the past few years, Griffey has struggled as the numerous injuries he has suffered throughout his career began to catch up with him. Griffey was drafted first overall by the Seattle Mariners in 1987, and made his major league debut two years later. During his time in Seattle, he was one of baseball's greatest hitters while also showing magnificent defensive prowess. Throughout the 1990's, Griffey was awarded a Gold Glove after each season. After 1999, Griffey was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Griffey would spend eight full seasons with the Reds, most of which would be injury-plauged. Griffey would hit thirty-five home runs in 2005, but would never regain those power numbers again. 2007 would be Griffey's last productive season in which he would show glimpses of his previous ability, with thirty home runs. After struggling for the past three seasons, Griffey has retired. Griffey ends his career with 630 home runs, which ranks fifth on the all-time list. While it may have been time for Griffey to retire, he will be forever known as a player who was the best player of his generation. There is much debate over the number of home runs Griffey would have hit had he not dealt with injury problems. In my mind, Griffey would be the all-time leading home run hitter in MLB history, had he not had numerous injury issues. Sources Used: espn.com