Reasons to vote for Junior - #5 He is "The Natural"

From the day Junior first picked up a bat, everyone knew he was going to be something quite special. At such a young age everyone around baseball was talking about The Kid and anointing him as "The Natural". Junior was a common day Stephan Strasburg or Bryce Harper, but so much more.

Of course we all have heard the stories of the young Junior running around the Cincinnati Reds locker-room when his father was a member of the team. But tips on batting and fielding techniques from big stars like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez are not the reason Junior is where he is today. It is Griffey's God given talent.

"He has the rare ability to do what he wants to do out there," said Ken Griffey Senior about Junior's talent on the baseball diamond. As a teenage Junior not only had great talent for baseball, but football as well, as he was offered a football scholarship to Oklahoma.


With Junior’s young talent came a passion for the game, Griffey wanted and used his skills on the field to the best of his ability. Even with his youthful antics and personality he showed the maturity of a veteran player with is devotion to the game. The Seattle Mariners saw this talent and Junior was selected as the No. 1 draft pick in 1987.

Junior’s Young Career Statistics:

1987
Archbishop Moeller High School
.478 AVG/7 HR/26 RBI/13 SB in his senior season
.422 career high school AVG

1987
Bellingham Mariners-Northwest League, low Class A
.313 AVG/14 HR/40 RBI in 182 AB
Named the league's top prospect, Baseball America magazine

1988
San Bernardino Spirit-California League, high Class A
.338 AVG/11 HR/42 RBI in 219 AB
Named the league's top prospect, Baseball America magazine

Vermont Mariners, Eastern League Class AA
.279 AVG/2 HR/10 RBI in 61 AB

1989
Spring Training
.359 AVG/2 HR/20 RBI in 89 AB
He set team spring training records for hits (32), total bases (49), consecutive games with a hit (15) and RBIs (20).

With a marvelous start to Junior’s baseball career (high school, minor leagues and 1989 spring training), there was great anticipation for Junior to start is stint as a big leaguer. On March 29, 1989, Ken Griffey Jr. was announced as the Seattle Mariners starting center fielder for the MLB regular season. From this day forward Junior used his natural abilities to rewritten the record books and become one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Big and great things were not only expected of Junior at a young age but have been exceeded in his majestic 22 year career in the majors. So help put this true talent back into the game that highlights the best, the MLB All-Star Game, and vote for Junior as the designated hitter for the American League.

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Reasons to vote for Junior - #4 Because he is one HR ball you WOULDN'T throw back!

A home run ball these days has become more than just run/s on the board but a valuable treasure and a special keepsake for fan/athlete. Catching a home run ball can lead to a lawsuit over ownership of the ball to making a king's ransom by selling it on eBay to having a piece of baseball history in a display case in your home. Yet with all this importance put on home run balls many fans still see it fitting to throw back home run balls hit by the opposing team. Some fans get so excited they throw back foul balls!

This tradition is quite controversial and often debated by many baseball fans. The environment around the crowd after a home run ball is caught can be quite hostile. However, no matter the discussion on this tradition it can be carried out by fans of all ages.

This all started with a group of Chicago Cubs fans at Wrigley Field, the Left Field Bleacher Bums of the 1960s. This original group of ten college students, construction workers and bartenders are said to be the founders of this baseball tradition. However, traditions have their exceptions and any fan that catches a four-base knock by Junior fits that single exception.


From Alex Rodriguez to Albert Pujols to Joe Mauer we have all seen these All-Stars' home run balls come flying back onto the field as the visiting team. On the contrary, home run balls that are blasted by Griffey are a souvenir for any baseball fan and are cherished regardless of the impact on the scoreboard.

Have you noticed that Griffey receives no boo birds or heckling when he hits a tape-measure shot? Instead everyone sits and instills a memory in their head of the spectacle that they have just witnessed. The lucky fan who managed to snag the Griffey big fly often feels a sense of overwhelming sensation having just caught one of some six hundred plus home runs hit by this future hall of famer. The fan then stores the ball away safely and play resumes with no interruption. That is a Ken Griffey Jr. home run experience, home or away.

And we have to ask, what does throwing a home run ball back really accomplish? Maybe 20 seconds of addition work for a ball boy or even player to grab off the field. That is nothing, we know you would do the right thing and just keep it! The odds of you catching another home run ball are not that great, let alone catching one from Junior. Unless you really can calculate the wind speed/weather patterns, pitching match-up, pitch selection, swing timing/effort and landing location of your favorite player at a single at bat we suggest you be satisfied with any home run ball you catch. Particularly one hit by a all-time great home run slugger, Ken Griffey Jr.

Lets give another fan the opportunity to possibly catch a great baseball keepsake in Anaheim, CA, a Ken Griffey Jr. home run ball. Help make it happen and vote for Junior for the 2010 MLB All-Star Game!

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Reasons to vote for Junior - #3 "The Swing"

For any type sports fan it is common knowledge that hitting a baseball throw by a major league pitcher is the hardest accomplishment in sports. From hackers to bunters to "I’m just going to swing and hope for the best" ballplayers, no one has had a swing like Junior. From his first major league at bat to today many believe that Junior’s swing is among the greatest the game has ever seen, if not the all-time greatest baseball swing.

Juniors swing is silky smooth and looks so effortless. As many of you know, Junior is and was not as muscular or burly as some major league sluggers. Unlike the likes of Jim Thome and Frank Thomas that used body weight and muscle mass to drive the ball over the fence, Griffey’s approach to slugging is with a technical, but elegant, swing. In a ESPN The Magazine article Griffey was asked if he lifted weights, his response was , "I don't do any upper body stuff. I believe hitting home runs is more about technique, about leverage."

Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies all-time great right fielder, once commented on Griffey’s swing saying, "He has the greatest swing from the left side I've ever seen. When I watch Griffey, it's amazing how he can get out on his front foot, look off balance but he's not and his hands are still back, and he keeps them back until he wants to bring them through, and then he hits a ball 450 feet. Every swing looks the same. Really, there are no bad swings."



Here is a list of what others have said about "The Swing":

• "It’s always majestic." Don Wakamatsu, current Mariners manager link

• "I believe Junior's swing is perfect, I really do." Edgar Martinez, former Mariners designated hitter link

• "Griffey always had the most beautiful swing in all of baseball." Torii Hunter, current Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim center fielder link

• It's so good rappers are singing about it.


If you like to cut corners in life then just settle on watching a mediocre reenactment of Junior’s swing by the Batting Stance Guy. If you want to see the real deal then vote for Junior!

No matter if your one believes how great "The Swing" was or is, just think how great it would be getting a glimpse of Junior’s swing at the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim, CA on July 13. Let’s all let the youth of today and ourselves enjoy one last center stage showing of the greatest swing there ever was.

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Reasons to vote for Junior - #2 Bring back the cap

We trust that we aren't the only ones who are upset with the current state of the backwards cap.  When it was first introduced, the backwards cap was a fun, youthful addition to a wardrobe.  Now, however, things have taken a turn for the worse.  We wish it we could say that it was just going quietly going out of style.  Instead, without Griffey's leadership, the backwards cap has been heavily abused and is nowhere near its original spirit.

EVIDENCE:

1. The "Epidemic." - The version we see all too often.

 

2. The "oh-look-at-me-I'm-so-goofy" look. - Nice, but abused.

3. The "It's just not for you" look. - We like Obama, but the backwards cap isn't for everyone.

4. The "I never know when it's the right time" look.

5. The Kid.

Griffey - Please come back into the national spotlight.  The country needs you.


VOTE FOR JUNIOR

Reasons to vote for Junior - #1 Nostalgia, etc.

So.  This is the beginning of a three-month series that we're going to creatively call, "Reasons to vote for Junior." These are in no particular order but they are all reasons that we're voting—and that YOU should vote for Junior.
 
Here's #1. Let's get this one out of the way.

Nostalgia, etc.
Griffey is now playing his 22nd season in the Majors. All signs are pointing towards this year being his last—his stats have become Ortiz-esque, Seattle is still a few years away from being a true contender, he's 40 years old (forty!), it's unlikely that Seattle will re-sign him at the end of the year, he is still very injury-prone, he can only play for an AL team, he's unlikely to accept a bench role, etc.

There has been much written about how superstars often "tarnish their legacies" when they decide to leave the game only when they can contribute absolutely no more. We at Vote24Junior tend to disagree strongly with this notion—whether it's Jordan, Gary Payton, Pedro Martinez, or Junior we believe that these guys should play as long as they want and not care about what's happening to their "legacies."

That being said, we do feel that all this time spent on the decline has made the public forget just how good Junior was.

10 Gold gloves (t-3rd among OF)
630 Home runs (5th all time)
Member of the All-Century team (1999)
1833 career RBI (15th all time)
1307 walks (37th all time)
.910 career OPS (55th all time)
13 All-Star Games
7 Silver Sluggers
1997 MVP

Obviously, we could go on. But do casual baseball fans born after, say, 1993 even know who he is? We have serious doubts. If nothing else, getting Junior to the All-Star Game will remind people just how effing great he was.

We know that the value of nostalgia is something that's almost impossible to quantify, so we won't even try. But, man, how great would it be to see Junior on one of baseball's biggest stages one more time?

VOTE FOR JUNIOR

Griffey vs. Ripken

I know the comparison is obvious, but I think it would be a good idea to go over some details for those who don't support the Vote-for-Junior movement.

Here are Cal's pre-ASG stats in 2001, his final year with the O's:

Obviously, nothing overwhelming there. It's too bad that he wasn't putting up great (even good) stats in his final year, but in spite of those numbers, the fans rewarded him for such a terrific career by making him an ASG starter one last time.

Here are Griffey's pre-ASG stats from last year (it's probably fair to assume that he'll put up similar numbers this year):

I know that they played different positions, can't just compare numbers, etc.  But, the fact remains: the public was more than willing to send Ripken to the game AND Ripken wasn't having as good of a season as Griffey had last year/will likely have this year.

Then, there's this:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=4429237

Leaving your Chan Ho Park conspiracy theories aside, I think it is hard to come across many who don't believe that this was one of the greatest moments in All-Star Game history. Don't we want to create another opportunity for a moment like this?

We aren't trying to set some kind of an every-former-star-in-his-last-season-should-be-elected-to-the-All-Star-Game precedent. In fact, we aren't even trying to set an every-former-SUPERstar-in-his-last-season precedent. We're more aiming for a one-of-The-Greatest-Players-Of-All-Time-in-his-last-season precedent. Watch that video again. Let's give Junior a shot at one more moment. We did it for Cal, let's do it for Junior.


VOTE FOR JUNIOR

Griffey the DH

Okay, so big difference this year: we are not trying to get our boy into the AL's outfield. He's listed on the ballot as a DH (thanks to the game being played in Anaheim). Despite there only being one spot, instead of three, I think this is going to turn out to be an advantage for Junior. However, he certainly will have competition.


Junior's Main Opponents:

1. David Ortiz - It just doesn't really matter how poorly he plays or how little playing time he gets. He will have to be reckoned with in the voting.

2. Hideki Matsui - Obviously, being a former Yankee, lots of name recognition here. That, combined with the fact that he's a great player and putting together a very nice season (though early) in a pretty sizable market are going to make him a tough competitor.

3. Adam Lind - Great season so far this year and a terrific season last year. Probably "deserves" it from statistical standpoint, but here at Vote24junior.com, we're not exactly subscribers to the theory that one should get elected to the MLB ASG based on this season's performance.

4. Nick Johnson - Plays for the Yankees.

5. Vlad Guerrero - Former superstar is going to put up significant stats this year in Texas. Don't sleep on Vlad.


Under NO circumstances are you to throw a pity vote towards one of the aforementioned men. If you want to congratulate them on a good season, feel free to do so in the 2011 MLB ASG voting.

Voting is open! Go do your thing!

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