Sunday, June 24, 2001
Griffey belongs in All-Star Game
Cal Ripken Jr. probably has no business playing in the All-Star Game. He no longer qualifies on merit. Not even close. After the first 73 games of his final season, Baltimore's iron Oriole isn't hitting his weight and reveals all the lateral range of a refrigerator. His retirement announcement Tuesday was an anticlimax, an acknowledgement that the years and the mileage finally have overtaken him.
Yet American League manager Joe Torre wants Ripken on his All-Star roster whether he wins the fan balloting or not. So do I. Performance should always be
the first consideration in choosing All-Stars, but there should be allowances made for the guys who can give you goosebumps.
Based on his statistics to date, Ken Griffey Jr. does not deserve to play in this year's All-Star Game either. His tender hamstring cost him two months of potential productivity and prevented Junior from collecting his first hit until June 15. Still, if Griffey is not afforded the opportunity to take some bows on July 10 at Seattle's Safeco Field, baseball will have blown it.
No player has meant more to the Mariners' franchise or its fans. No player should begrudge Griffey the chance to be cheered in the place he rose to stardom. No player is better suited to rise to that occasion and manufacture a moment for the memory book.
If the players' union doesn't approve revising interleague play to include rotating opponents as well as regional rivals, this All-Star Game could be Griffey's last chance to appear in a major-league game in Seattle. When the Mariners next host an All-Star Game, Griffey probably will be drawing his pension. The possibility of the Mariners and Reds meeting in a World Series is delicious but remote.
The possibility that Griffey might never play another game in Seattle is simply, unequivocally unacceptable.
Think about it. Without the 11 seasons Griffey spent in Seattle, the Mariners franchise might not have survived in the Pacific Northwest. If Safeco Field never particularly suited Griffey's slugging, it would never have been built without his contributions.
Now, with the Mariners dominating the American League, whatever hard feelings were elicited by Griffey's exit should have subsided. He would return as a prodigal son rather than a painful reminder. Though Alex Rodriguez can expect boos for bolting for a bigger salary with the Texas Rangers, Griffey should rate some slack because he left to go home.
The problem with arranging this heartwarming homecoming is that there's no way to do it without bumping someone with nicer numbers. Six National League outfielders — Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Luis Gonzalez, Cliff Floyd and J.D. Drew — already have at least 20 home runs. All six were hitting at least .306 through Friday's games. Houston's Moises Alou (.353) and Lance Berkman (.349) also will rate consideration.
With only 30 spots on the All-Star roster and a requirement that all 16 National League teams be represented, someone's feelings are bound to get bruised. Bruising them for the sake of a player with inconclusive stats is sure to make for some tough swallowing.
Should Griffey finish among the top three National League outfielders in the fan balloting, his place on the roster would be automatic. But he was fourth in the most recent tally, too far back to challenge Bonds or Sosa and nearly 30,000 votes behind Colorado's Walker. Having returned to the active roster should help Griffey in the polls, but the clock is running against him. The only ballots accepted after today will be those cast online. The All-Star starters are to be announced July 2.
New York Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Saturday that manager Bobby Valentine would not discuss his plans for the National League's discretionary roster spots. You can't blame him, either. The worst part about winning the pennant is that it earns you the dirty job of disappointing players who deserve to be All-Stars.
If Valentine (in consultation with Major League Baseball) decides Ken Griffey Jr. isn't deserving, he'd certainly be able to construct a sound argument. That doesn't mean, however, that Junior should be excluded from the event.
If there's no room on the roster, perhaps Ken Griffey Jr. could be included in the All-Star Home Run Derby. It's a good forum for a great slugger with delicate hamstrings. It's a good way to include Griffey without snubbing someone with better stats.
E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.
Reds Stories
DAUGHERTY: Gardner is guy you can like
World Team Wrestling Trials schedule
World Team Wrestling Trials results
Auto Racing Insider
Best and worst of week in sports
Bonds hits 39th HR
Kentucky sweeps LaRosa awards
High School Insider
Indiana All-Stars exact revenge on Kentucky
Buzz fills void in sports talk
Cable viewer's guide to Wimbledon
Green will defend Kroger title
Local Golf Notebook
Men's Met tee times
• Return to Reds front page...
SULLIVAN: Griffey belongs in All-Star Game
