Ken Griffey Jr.: My Childhood Hero

Yesterday while checking some of the usually baseball sites that I read, I stumbled upon this article about Ken Griffey Jr. and his trade from Seattle to Cincinnati. Growing up in the 90's what kid wasn't a fan of Griffey. I remember playing little league and trying mimic his swing at the plate, but what stood out the most for me with him was his defense. Watching highlights of him taking away home runs was just awesome to me.

This was one of my first Griffey cards that I added to my collection. What is cool about this card it has part of his batting glove in it. I haven't seen really any other relic card that has something other then a part of a jersey or a bat. Pretty cool relic to have.

Going back to the article written about Griffey the other thing that made me really like him growing up was how close he was with his dad and his family. He always put family first. I am lucky enough to have a close relationship with my family and especially with my dad. Just like Griffey, I am able to work with my dad (I am salesperson at a Chevy dealership and my dad is the parts manager).

Can't have an article about my favorite baseball player of all time without having a highlight film.

It's been long enough...

Pete Rose, one of the all time greatest hitters and one of the best competitors in baseball has been banned from the game of baseball since 1989. He was questioned about betting on baseball games while he managed the Cincinnati Reds. It came out that he was gambling, but there was no evidence that he was betting that the Reds to lose games.

Pete Rose, the player, was one of the greatest competitors to ever play the game. He played the game to win and be the best player in the game. Even in the All Star game he left it all out on the field and that was clear in the 1970 All Star game when he ran over Ray Fosse of the Cleveland Indians to score the winning run.Yes, he did seriously hurt Fosse and pretty much costed him his career, but that was Rose's style of play. As a hitter he would finish his career with the most hits ever with 4,256 and a career slash line of .303/.375/.409. Add in 17 All Star appearances, multiple batting titles, a MVP and 3 World Series rings he should be in the Hall of Fame as a player.

Everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect. The All Star game is going to be held in Cincinnati this year. We have a new Commissioner of Baseball with Rob Manfred. This would be a perfect time for the MLB to lift Pete Rose's ban on baseball. He has apologized for his actions. My simple argument for Pete Rose is that he should in the Hall of Fame for what he did as a player. When he was betting on baseball he was managing the Reds. He did not have a Hall of Fame career as a manager, but as a player.

#TBT: June 26, 2011

Every year I try to make it down to at least one Tigers game. I live four hours north of Detroit, so unfortunately for me making it to one game a summer is an accomplishment. Back in 2011 I had bought tickets to see the Tigers take on the Arizona Diamondback with my Dad, my Grandpa, and my Aunt. It was a hot June Sunday day game. The stadium was packed with just over 41,000 fans. It was a special day for the Detroit Tigers. The Diamondbacks were being managed by former Tigers Kirk Gibson and Alan Tramell. They were also retiring Sparky Anderson, their former manager who lead them to the 1984 World Series number 11 before the game. It was an amazing ceremony to be at and see one of the great Tigers having his number retired. They also gave out this pretty cool picture to the fans.

Sorry for the blurry image. I couldn't get a good picture but the quote at the top says "The players make the manager, it's never the other way." Now the game started off pretty slow. You had Brad Penny starting for the Tigers and Joe Saunders for the D'backs. Jhonny Peralta hit a solo home run in the 2nd to give the Tigers and early 1-0 lead. In the top of the 7th the D'Backs put two on the board to take the lead. Then the bottom of the 8th inning happened. The Tigers put 7 runs across the plate. It was hit after hit and the crowd was going wild in Comerica Park. The final score would be 8-3 for the Tigers. A good way to honor the late Sparky Anderson. Click here to check out the box score.

 Sparky managed two teams in his 26 year career. He spent his first 9 years, starting in 1970 with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds were a loaded team during the 70's with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez to name a few. He would lead them to four NL pennants and two World Series. The next 17 seasons he would lead our Detroit Tigers from the the dugout. He might not have had as much success with the Tigers as he did with the Reds, but he did lead the Tigers to our last World Series title in 1984. He would win over 1,300 games with the Tigers and have a final win total of 2,194 with 5 pennants, 3 World Series and would be the first manager to win a World Series in both the National and American League. He would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 2000.