Alex Harkaway
Free agency is the time of year when the elite teams load up on the Mark Teixeiras and Manny Ramirezes of baseball; the big-splash signings that invigorate fan bases with thoughts of future championships.
It is a time of year when smart teams make shrewd, under-the-radar acquisitions of players who could be the pieces needed to push a good team over the top. And it is a time of year when the Mariners throw huge paychecks at players who promptly turn out to be worth less than the ink.
So, forgive Mariner fans if they were not enthused when free agency began and they were wondering who was going to be the next Scott Spezio or Carlos Silva. However, just when it appeared all hope was lost for the franchise, they somehow got their hands on the player every Mariner fan has loved: Junior.
While Ken Griffey Jr. returning to Seattle seems like a slam-dunk, or a grand salami, if you will, it nearly didn’t happen. Griffey was seriously contemplating an offer from the Atlanta Braves, a team for which he could have played his home games an one hour away from his Orlando, Fla., home. Griffey could have played for a National League East contender and spend more time with his family. But in the end, he chose to reunite with his Mariner family and the fans who have missed him ever since his trade to Cincinnati.
Junior coming back to the Mariners will surely revive a fan base that, in recent years, has grown accustomed to not having much to cheer about.
Every Griffey plate appearance will be met with a sense of awe Seattle has not experienced in a long time.
Parents will take their children to see the legend in his final tour of duty. Safeco Field will be rocking the way it was when the Mariners won 116 games in 2001.
Of course, fans won’t be expecting their team to win 116 games this season.
Griffey is a shell of his former self and will probably be relegated to designated hitter status for most of the season, if he can even stay healthy. If Junior struggles with injuries or appears to be ‘washed up’ in any way, the Mariners front office had better tread carefully.
A release of the superstar during midseason would cause fans to go sour on the team in a heartbeat and would rank among the biggest blunders the front office has ever made, and there have been a lot of them.
Now that they have inspired fans with the acquisition of Junior, they need to keep him around, whether he is hitting another 40 home runs or only four.
With hope, Griffey can still play; not just for the team’s sake, but for the sake of all Mariners fans. Because if Griffey is in the lineup, each of his at-bats will remind fans of a time when the Mariners boasted the finest centerfielder in the game. Then maybe, if only for a moment, fans will forget about the sorry state of the team, and just watch The Kid swing for the fences.