I hate to say it but Ken Griffey, Jr. is past his prime...
Derrick
Posts: 4,287 ✭✭
Just a couple of short years ago, it was simply assumed by most fans and by a great many knowledgeable baseball people that Ken Griffey Jr. was the best player in the game. I'm curious: Do you know anyone who still feels that way? I don't. It's not as if the baseball people I talk to go around saying, "Whatever happened to Ken Griffey Jr.?" It's not like anyone comes out and says he isn't the best, and I suppose some people still feel that he is. But you don't hear people say it as much anymore...it is no longer the automatic response it was three or four or even two years ago.
Now, many of the same people who once picked Griffey will say, a bit grudgingly, "Alex Rodriguez, maybe, or Barry Bonds" (the man who was generally the unofficial pick before Griffey reached his peak), or, the thinking man's response, "Pudge Rodriguez." And the funny thing is that most people haven't even noticed this yet.
Let's not rush ahead on this. There is plenty of time for Griffey to turn things around...and it must be admitted that any season highlighted by 40 home runs and 118 runs batted in, Griffey's numbers in 2000, doesn't need much turning around. It's just that, well, how to say it...Junior doesn't look super anymore. He is 32 right now, and won't turn 33 until the season is over. He should be at his peak. He should have been at his peak the year before last. But he wasn't, not quite. His .271 batting average was the lowest since his rookie season 12 years ago. Six stolen bases (in 10 attempts, for a hardly-worth-it percentage of 60 percent) was his worst performance ever, not counting 1995 when he missed more than half his games because of injury. For that matter, the 40 home runs was his lowest total (again, excepting '95) since 1992.
Am I nitpicking? If so, let me get all the nits out in the open. First, Ken Griffey's career batting average has now dipped under .300 (.296). This is not unusual in a great ballplayer; Barry Bonds, for instance, is at .290 or so for his career. But Bonds was never a high-average hitter; his forte was reaching base with power (his on-base average is 31 points higher than Griffey's.) But that's not really the point; the point is that as he has reached his peak years, Ken Griffey's average has dropped. Last few years, it dropped 14 points. In fact, he has now, after hitting over .300 in six of his first seven seasons (falling short only in the injury season of '95), failed to hit over .300 for three straight seasons. He is still a fine centerfielder, but his range factor has declined slightly over the last three years and his errors have increased slightly. Most alarmingly, his slugging average has dropped, and steadily: From a league-leading .646 in '97, he has dipped to .611, .576, and last year, .556. That's 35, 35, and 20 points. You may see no cause for alarm, but suppose he were to drop another 20-35 points this year even stays healthy?
What seems to be happening to Griffey is that his "peripheral" skills, the ability to beat out the infield hit, the burst of speed to catch the occasional soft fly in front of him, the jump required to steal a base in a tough situation, are all eroding...and rapidly...leaving only Ken Griffey Jr., the home run hitter, in front of the public eye. Or, stated another way, he is playing five or six years older than he is. That may not make any difference so far as reaching Aaron's home run total off 755, but a couple of years ago he seemed capable of that and so much more. It really did seem as if we were watching the heir to Babe Ruth's and Willie Mays' unofficial titles of Greatest Player, and, perhaps, a living, breathing candidate for the title of Greatest Player in Baseball History. Now, that is slipping away, for reasons that just don't seem clear. Now we're left wondering if he's going to be better at age 35 than his dad was...only time will tell.
Now, many of the same people who once picked Griffey will say, a bit grudgingly, "Alex Rodriguez, maybe, or Barry Bonds" (the man who was generally the unofficial pick before Griffey reached his peak), or, the thinking man's response, "Pudge Rodriguez." And the funny thing is that most people haven't even noticed this yet.
Let's not rush ahead on this. There is plenty of time for Griffey to turn things around...and it must be admitted that any season highlighted by 40 home runs and 118 runs batted in, Griffey's numbers in 2000, doesn't need much turning around. It's just that, well, how to say it...Junior doesn't look super anymore. He is 32 right now, and won't turn 33 until the season is over. He should be at his peak. He should have been at his peak the year before last. But he wasn't, not quite. His .271 batting average was the lowest since his rookie season 12 years ago. Six stolen bases (in 10 attempts, for a hardly-worth-it percentage of 60 percent) was his worst performance ever, not counting 1995 when he missed more than half his games because of injury. For that matter, the 40 home runs was his lowest total (again, excepting '95) since 1992.
Am I nitpicking? If so, let me get all the nits out in the open. First, Ken Griffey's career batting average has now dipped under .300 (.296). This is not unusual in a great ballplayer; Barry Bonds, for instance, is at .290 or so for his career. But Bonds was never a high-average hitter; his forte was reaching base with power (his on-base average is 31 points higher than Griffey's.) But that's not really the point; the point is that as he has reached his peak years, Ken Griffey's average has dropped. Last few years, it dropped 14 points. In fact, he has now, after hitting over .300 in six of his first seven seasons (falling short only in the injury season of '95), failed to hit over .300 for three straight seasons. He is still a fine centerfielder, but his range factor has declined slightly over the last three years and his errors have increased slightly. Most alarmingly, his slugging average has dropped, and steadily: From a league-leading .646 in '97, he has dipped to .611, .576, and last year, .556. That's 35, 35, and 20 points. You may see no cause for alarm, but suppose he were to drop another 20-35 points this year even stays healthy?
What seems to be happening to Griffey is that his "peripheral" skills, the ability to beat out the infield hit, the burst of speed to catch the occasional soft fly in front of him, the jump required to steal a base in a tough situation, are all eroding...and rapidly...leaving only Ken Griffey Jr., the home run hitter, in front of the public eye. Or, stated another way, he is playing five or six years older than he is. That may not make any difference so far as reaching Aaron's home run total off 755, but a couple of years ago he seemed capable of that and so much more. It really did seem as if we were watching the heir to Babe Ruth's and Willie Mays' unofficial titles of Greatest Player, and, perhaps, a living, breathing candidate for the title of Greatest Player in Baseball History. Now, that is slipping away, for reasons that just don't seem clear. Now we're left wondering if he's going to be better at age 35 than his dad was...only time will tell.
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He really needs to get the boot put to him & I think it would be best if he got out of Cinn.All the racial problems that city has had the last few years surely can't be helping matters any either.I went to ball games there back in the 80s & the racial problems were bad then also.Too bad,as it really is a great town but we have no desire to go back.
I wish Griffey Jr the best but feel he needs a change of scenery to kick start his career.
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Griffey used to be my favorite player. But I have barely heard his name ever since he went to the Reds. Injuries have gotten to him..
does anyone know when he's coming back this season? When he was injured they said 3-6 weeks but I'm not sure how long its been since then... surely 4-5 weeks?
I dont think he's very happy in Cincinnatti like he thought he would be. Maybe he needs to heal up and come out strong and get the fans behind him again. Use their badmouthing him as motivation. If he came out of this injury and hit .300 with 35 homers and 75 RBI's... I think the fans would lighten up a little bit.
What a baby!
"I get consistently beat up for no reason," Griffey said, sitting in his locker after batting practice. "It's been happening since the very first day I got here, and I'm tired of it. You try to bend over backward to do the right thing, and it just seems to get thrown in my face.
"I came here to play baseball. I took less money. I didn't whine or anything, and this is the thanks I get? I don't need that."
Part of his anger resulted from a television station poll asking which player should sit the bench when Griffey is able to play again. Griffey was one of the four choices, and 74 percent of the fans picked him.
"I came here to play and it's like I've been fighting an uphill battle every day," Griffey said. "Am I frustrated about my injury? No, because I know it's going to get better and I'll go out and play. Am I frustrated about people taking shots at me? Yeah.
"I'm tired of it. It's been three years now -- not one, not a half-year, not a year and a half. It's been three."
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<< <i>He should be switched over to right fielder. Less running and strain on the hammies and knees. I don't think he will be as good over all as he was in the past. But I wouldn't be suprised if his bat still lit it up until he was 39-41. >>
He has the quickest swing in MLB.
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<< <i>He should be switched over to right fielder. Less running and strain on the hammies and knees. I don't think he will be as good over all as he was in the past. But I wouldn't be suprised if his bat still lit it up until he was 39-41. >>
He has the quickest swing in MLB. >>
I'd have to argue with that. I'd say Gary Sheffield has the quickest swing the Majors.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>He should be switched over to right fielder. Less running and strain on the hammies and knees. I don't think he will be as good over all as he was in the past. But I wouldn't be suprised if his bat still lit it up until he was 39-41. >>
He has the quickest swing in MLB. >>
I'd have to argue with that. I'd say Gary Sheffield has the quickest swing the Majors. >>
Nope. They even said it on ESPN. They said Griffey's swing speed from the time he swings to the time he connect to the ball is 120 mph which is the fastest in MLB.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>He should be switched over to right fielder. Less running and strain on the hammies and knees. I don't think he will be as good over all as he was in the past. But I wouldn't be suprised if his bat still lit it up until he was 39-41. >>
He has the quickest swing in MLB. >>
I'd have to argue with that. I'd say Gary Sheffield has the quickest swing the Majors. >>
Nope. They even said it on ESPN. They said Griffey's swing speed from the time he swings to the time he connect to the ball is 120 mph which is the fastest in MLB. >>
I also heard it on ESPN where they said Gary Sheffield probably has the quickest bat speed in the Majors.
From ESPN article:
"Sheffield has the quickest bat in the major leagues. He defines the meaning of a pull hitter. I have seen him pull balls off the outside corner of the plate over the left-field fence. He gets great plate coverage. He is a dead-red fastball hitter. A pitcher can't pound Sheff inside with hard stuff unless he stays way inside off the plate. He has the ability to hit off-speed pitches and also if they are elevated in the strike zone."
Either way, it's very close.
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At one time (earlier this season) I thought he had an outside chance to break Aaron's record. Now I'd say not.
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