I don’t believe in insisting athletes should retire. If a guy wants to hang around as long as humanly possible, collecting paychecks and perks along the way, who am I to argue? An end of an athletic career isn’t all that different to an end of life. You want the blood to keep pumping … the heart to keep ticking … the stir to keep stirring.
Nobody wants to go out.
Nobody.
That said, I hope Ken Griffey, Jr. retires.
This was not a good year for the Kid, who hit .214 with 19 home runs, 57 runs batted in and posted an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .735. Yes, Seattle loves him, and his return home was a good thing for the city. But sometimes, like Uncle Biff, homecomings last too long. Slowly, you start hoping the guest leaves. He’s not cleaning off the plate. Or flushing the toilet. Or driving in runs.
The other day, Griffey had a bone spur removed from his left knee during arthroscopic surgery.
I’m hoping he just had knee trouble.
I’m thinking he’ll be back.
PS: On the Seattle Times website, an anonymous poster wrote: “Get your fat ass in shape or don’t come back… Your knees would be thankful if you could drop 20 lbs too.” Good God, why would anyone say such a thing? Is the man not human?
