Griffey Could Heat Seattle’s Stove

by Derik Hettinger
Love of Sports Correspondent

The American League’s most moribund franchise needs a boost.

A complete retool is necessary to make this team a contender again. Perhaps they could wait it out and let the mediocre players drop off the team like wheels on an old wagon; phase them out through the natural course of expiring contracts and trades.

Perhaps they could sign a big name? Recent acquisitions like Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre didn’t exactly pan out the way a Mariners fan would have hoped. 

Sadly, a mess this big is rarely cleaned up in a single off season. Changes can be made to point the team in the right direction, but a drastic change is far too unrealistic, especially with the likes of Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln pulling the strings.

What doesn’t bode well for the team? The owner of Nintendo, also the owner of the Mariners, dislikes baseball so much he has not been to a single game in person. The new general manager could spell some relief, but he took the Brewers to prominence over a period of several years, not in one season.

There is one move – and one move only – that the Mariners need to make: sign Ken Griffey Jr.

His agent recently stated that Seattle was one of Griffey’s desired destinations, rehashing the pipe dreams Seattle fans have held onto for years. A once an unrealistic story now has legitimate legs.

Arguably not all that helpful in the long term, signing Griffey could infuse some excitement into the sagging fan base. One can hear a pin drop in Safeco Field these days, a far cry from Zombie Nation tunes blasting between Royal Broughm and Edgar Martinez Drive like a block party. The fans come late and they leave early.

Junior would change all of that. The Mariners could lose all their games, but if they have the Kid to applaud as he trots to the outfield, or watching him swing his bat in the on-deck circle as a DH would have an invigorating effect on Seattle’ starving fans. Ken would be limited due to his 38 years of age, but the notion of Seattle’s greatest hero returning to his beginnings is enough to make a Mariner fan smile.

Griffey would not help the team for the future, but he would be fun to watch here and now, in the present. Imagine: the Kid – conjuring up images of the 1995 season and massive home runs.
It might not be much, but for one more year, it’d make it worth coming to the ballpark.