Some kid named Griffey

[Ragin Cajun]

There was not much hype for the young LF, Ken Griffey. He expected to be drafted in the first couple of days. He was pleasantly suprised when the Minnesota Twins drafted him at #15 overall in the 2100 draft.

Griffey made his big league debut with the Twins in a late season callup in 2102. He went 8 for 35 (.229) with 3 home runs and 8 rbi. The following year, he broke camp with the big league club and became the starting leftfielder with little fanfare.

Griffey responded to his rookie year pressures with a .260 average but did open some eyes with 25 HR and 77 RBI while taking home the Rookie of the Year honors.

While concerns of a sophomore jinx were in the press at the start of 2103, Griffey was unfazed. The youth hit a meager .250 but hit 37 homers and 125 rbi, both which led the team. The team made the postseason but lost in the first round.

In his first year as arbitration eligible, Griffey came to camp with a renewed dedication to improve his game. His legendary work ethic paid off with a monster season; .284-53-160, an All Star nomination and culminated with a World Series victory and the leagues MVP trophy.

How does one top a "career year" in only his fourth season? He comes back and does it again. Griffey was even better in 2106, hitting .284 but bashing an astounding 63 home runs and eclipsing the 200 rbi mark with 204! The team lost in the playoffs but he did win his second straight MVP award.

So now, Griffey heads into the unknown of free agency with 181 home runs and 574 rbi in his short career. Where does he go from here? Is 70 HR a possibility? How about 250 rbi? We will just have to wait and see.

****
The Kid suffered a slump of sorts in '07. His average dropped to .264 and his power numbers dipped to 41 and 153. Solid years, but not what the fans expected. A third straight All Star berth helped alleviate the bruised feelings of boos as he did not garner postseason appearances or awards.

The kid wanted to remain in Minnesota, but also wanted to test the free agent waters. He told his agent that he would be willing to stay in Minnesota for less money as long as the offers were competitive with the market. Minnesota topped out with bids in the $7 million range but along came the Red Sox and a $9.4 million offer. The kid couldn't pass up that money, especially seeing that Boston had won 96 games the previous year and had the top three winning records for pitchers.

Griffey responded to Fenway Park with a flourish; a career best .294 average and a rebound of sorts with 54 home runs and 160 rbi. A fourth straight All Star appearance helped offset a first round playoff loss.

2109 started with high hopes in Boston. The kid had a monster year; his first average over .300 (.319) and a return to glory with 62 homers and 193 rbi. The team, however, missed the playoffs by four games. There was a fifth straight All Star berth for the outfielder.

[Ragin Cajun]

oh the humanity. I went to save the screen shot to post and my cpu froze from lack of resources and when I rebooted the ITP league file was corrupted. The player still showed his fielding stats from last year, but all other stats were wiped out. He also showed no birthday, and his age was "0". And the game wouldn't load. Had to start a new career...Oh Griffey, what might have been.

[Hoosier]

I enjoyed reading your write-up. Hopefully you can come back and do it again.