Seattle understands Griffey

If you have read this blog for any length of time you know that I am a huge fan of Ken Griffey Jr. and we have touched on this topic a number of times. I was reading an article from The Seattle Times and I think that the Seattle fans understand their expectations of Griffey and appreciate what they have. Griffey has been limited to pinch hitting situations in Seattle and so far this season .221 with 14 HR's and 33 RBI with limited plate appearances. Seattle wasn't counting on Ken Griffey Jr. to come in an transform the Mariners into a playoff team. Seattle wanted Griffey to come in and help the young players along, keep the clubhouse loose, and answer the call when needed.

From day 1 in Cincinnati the front office and fans expected Griffey to come in and make the Reds a World Series contender. Jim Bowden even referenced it in his speech when he introduced Griffey to the media. But there were a number factors that played against the whole situation. First, Griffey dealt with injury, not because he was out of shape he suffered these injuries while playing. Second, we didn't build a team around him. We never had a pitching staff, we never had defense to go with him, we put everything on his shoulders.
Even after multiple seasons with Griffey up until his last plate appearance as a Red the fans expected Junior to be the superstar that he was in the early 90's. We had expectations for Griffey that were just beyond reason. Seattle doesn't have those expectations. Seattle is excited to have a future Hall of Famer in the locker room keeping the locker room loose and leading in the only way that Griffey knows how. By keeping the game fun.