#29 Ken Griffey JR

 

Ken Griffey JR
CF
1989-2010
13X All Star, 10 Time Gold Glove
Baseball Hall of Fame 2016
I started following baseball in 1990 so I got to see a lot of great hitters do a lot of great things. Of all the guys I saw (for most of his career) the least likely to change the channel if a guy was coming up belt belonged to Ken Griffey JR. 

The prettiest swing, the joy involved as he swung it. The absurd place the balls landed. Couped with playing a great center field, making baseball in Seattle relevent, making baseball cool as a young black athlete who dared to wear his hat backwards in BP. 

At age 29 you thought he was destined to be the best ever. He had already lead the league in homers 4 times, already won an MVP, already won TEN gold gloves. He went to Cincy and he was better there than people remember, he made a few all star teams, but the way he played caught up to him and he was a human. His first 10 can ride with anyone and his second 10 were still very good, but you wonder what would have happened if he had stayed healthy the entire time.

He still ends up with 630 home runs good for 7th all time. He still ends up with the 35th best WAR among position players. He still ends up with the 16th most RBI ever (1,836). He's made 3 or 4 of the best catches you've ever seen. 

He lead the world in swings imitated in whiffle ball. Ken Griffey Junior was a superstar with a capital S and he landed in Cooperstown in 2016 with 99.3% of the vote. 
Anthony Leonelli is a 37 year old College Basketball Coach and amateur baseball arguer. If you wanna know how this list came together check here criteria. He thinks that George Brett winning batting titles in 3 decades is pretty awesome. 




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