The Seattle Mariners lost 102 games last season. The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City. Mike Holmgren left the Seahawks (who went 4-12 this past season). The Washington Huskies (ranked 22 in the nation at 19-7, 10-4) are the only thing Seattle had going for it. And even that took a hit last night as UCLA brought them down a notch. The Huskies have a good shot at winning the PAC 10 and will make the tournament next month, but will probably not make it to the Elite 8, let alone the Sweet Sixteen. Gonzaga will continue to top the WCC over and over and over, but in all likelihood won't make it to the national championship.
Yet, today, there is hope in the Emerald City. On Thursday, Ken Griffey, Jr. announced that he would accept an offer and return to the Mariners.
Some might say, 'oh, Griffey, isn't he washed up?' Well, that depends.
It is his 20th season in the MLB. His numbers have obviously gone down since his early years in Seattle. Last year, he batted .249 and hit 18 homers while playing on 2 different teams.
But does that mean that he won't bring back Seattle? No.
On Thursday alone, the Mariners sold 16,000 tickets. Griffey merchandise has been flying off shelves. Could it be? Could the kid, now 39, bring back Seattle's sports? As of now, it looks like the answer is a maybe. It looks like he has definitely sparked an interest in the state of Washington.
His presence could very well bring back success. When Michael Jordan made his second comeback to the Washington Wizards, the Wizards were crappy team. Even with him, they weren't that great. But he certainly brought back the fans to Washington (D.C.) basketball. Eventually, after Jordan left, the Wizards turned things around and made a couple of playoff runs. Griffey has the ability to do the same thing for the city of Seattle and the Mariners. Don't forget, Jr. was once known as the Michael Jordan of baseball.
After going through the A-Rod saga over the past 2 weeks, it became obvious to me that if MLB didn't have this steroids problem, Griffey would not have been overshadowed so easily. When you find out that all these great players that are putting up awesome numbers are all cheaters, you also come to appreciate a guy like Griffey who could hit 40-50 homers before steroids became so prevalent in the MLB and in sports altogether.
WHOOO JUNIOR!!!
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