Griffey's Return To Seattle: A Hero's Welcome
Published April 22, 2008
And that night, everything was more than all right. Everything was perfect. And it was that perfection that people from all over had now traveled to Safeco to remember. So 12 years later, when Griffey finally emerged from the visitor's dugout, the accumulated weight of all those years without him was lifted.
In the foreign colors of red and black, Griffey approached the microphone stand, hands held behind his back as he gathered his thoughts. But we wouldn't let him. For three straight minutes, we cheered for him. We cheered because of all he had done for us; we cheered for his honesty in an era of steroid-induced deception; we cheered because of the nasty fortune he had been dealt. I cheered for my childhood hero, whose arms soon extended in thanks to the fans who will always consider him one of their own.
As soon as he managed, "I never knew how much I missed this place," I felt the first tear sneak its way out and onto the back of my hand. Tears found their way to Griffey too, namely when he was greeted by former teammates Edgar and the bald-pated, recently-retired Jay Buhner.
Although the Mariners would go on to lose that game by the astounding score of 16-1, the worst lost in Safeco Field history, it didn't matter. My hero had returned, and, for the weekend, I was a kid again.
- Griffey's Return To Seattle: A Hero's Welcome
- Published: April 22, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Baseball
- Writer: Casey Michel
- Casey Michel's BC Writer page
- Casey Michel's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Good for ya to write his article. It is exposing the fact that there are positive people out there in sports. Not all are juiced wife beaters or anything.
Griff is a cool dude and a great player. I used to take my daughter to Safeco and get those killer $5 seats in the outfield with Griff right in front of us. Good bio-rhythms, man! A plus for the community.
best,
DM
You were lucky enough to live in Seattle and see his games. I had a tougher time, living in Virginia, although I did get to see him at Orioles games. He was my hero, too. Luckily, now I have the baseball package on TV and can watch him anytime. He's in the wrong uniform, though.
Great story. It inspired me to watch more Reds games.
600!!! Griffey Jr. did it! We should have known when he and his dad came to bat back to back as Mariners. Griffey Sr. hits a home run. Jr. next comes to bat and hits a home run! That really happened a long time ago in the Kingdome.
an honorable club to be a part of. the 600 club.
cool,
DM
And, you know....this 600 home run achievement is a feel good deal.
Why?
because it is a 'pure' record. These 600 Home Runs have not been 'juiced' or 'enhanced' in any manner.
Those 600 HRs are the real deal.
DM
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great article! I was at Griffey's return, and I too got a little emotional. "The Kid" stands for so much and is a living manifestation on the good side of baseball. Rarely did his name attatch itself with controversy or getting in trouble with the law. All of his teammates can attest to his leadership, and all of his fans can attest to his greatness.