File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Why Griffey? Why are you a shell of your former self? I grew up looking up to you, and had your signed baseball card and everything. I know you had an injury but why play at all if all you can do is remind us how good you once WERE.
>> Anonymous
He's 38.
>> Anonymous
And he just threw someone out at home plate.

Nice timing.
>> Anonymous
I am pretty sure he plays baseball because he wants to and a team is willing to have him, he is not here to make sure your memories of him stay warm and happy.
>> Anonymous
Griffey Jr. doubles and then is taken out for a pinch runner.
>> Anonymous
Cause he needs money.
>> Anonymous
He hasn't just had one injury. He's had many injuries and he's fairly old now. He's been in the majors around 20 years.
>> HKK !h7MHU9L/Oo
     File :-(, x)
While he's been a productive player since being traded to the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2000 season (he boasts a batting line of .271 AVG/.361 OBP/.515 SLG as a Red), he's been hurt badly and often over that span. In fact, Griffey has averaged just 105 games per season since coming to Cincinnati. Needless to say, that's a lot of lost time.

The question, then, is: What might Griffey's career have looked like had he not been so prone to injury? He's already one of the all-time greats. But given better health, might Griffey have been in the discussion for best player ever? Obviously, there's no way to know this for sure, but we can still make a few quick-and-dirty guesses as to what the numbers of a relatively injury-free Griffey might look like today.

First, let's wipe the injury slate clean and say he averages 150 games per season (giving him 12 games off for minor maladies and occasional rest) over the course of his 19 full seasons in the majors. In reality, he's averaged just 125 games per season, so this adds 475 games to his career totals. Coming into 2008, Griffey was averaging 4.3 plate appearances (PA) per game, so that means we're tacking on 2,043 PA to his career. A bit more math ... For his career (again, coming into 2008), he's averaged 4.0 PA per hit, 17.1 PA per home run, 21.5 PA per double, 2.1 PA per total base, 8.7 PA per walk, 6.0 PA per RBI, and 6.6 PA per run scored. So by plugging all those rates into all those missing plate appearances, we can compile a few career numbers for the hypothetical Super Griffey. Here's what comes out of the wash...
>> HKK !h7MHU9L/Oo
>>372810

Free from injury, Griffey joins the 3,000 hit club, eclipses 700 homers, becomes just the fourth player to get to 2,000 RBI, and closes in on 6,000 total bases and 2,000 runs scored. Oh, and as his homer total demonstrates he'd also have a shot at relieving us of our collective case of Barry Bonds angst.

Roughly speaking, he becomes Hank Aaron plus, for much of his career, Gold Glove-caliber defense at an up-the-middle position. Greatest ever? Once his defensive value is accounted for, there's a case to be made for Super Griffey. Realistically, though, he still lags Babe Ruth and Bonds in terms of overall value. With that said, you can argue quite persuasively that if Griffey had been healthy throughout his career, then he would've been one of the five greatest players ever to lace up the spikes.

Griffey doesn't need this kind of daydreaming to make him into a great player — he's already that — but all those injuries kept him from achieving an even rarer kind of greatness
>> Anonymous
>>372810
>>372811
WOW, TOO TL;DR FOR ANYONE TO READ SAMEFAG
>> Anonymous
Griffey ruined the Reds franchise for 10 years.
>> HKK !h7MHU9L/Oo
>>372882

Then just look at the picture you fucking idiot.
>> Anonymous
Good news is the Rays beat the Sox in 4 so we won't have to worry about junior much longer.

Sorry Chifags.