NCAAbbs

what is your opinion of Ken Griffey Jr? I get to see him play every day, and I still think he is one of the top 5 outfielders in the NL. He has been incredible this year (he was hurt for a month). What do you guys think?

Well, he's obviously not the player he was during his heyday in the '90's, and I don't know if I'd say he's one of the five best outfielders in the National League, but if he's ever able to play 150 games, he's still going to hit 40 homers and knock in 120 runs.

He's more of a one-trick pony now. He used to be such an incredible power-speed-defense combination, whereas now he's just a thumper. He never steals anymore, nor does he win Gold Gloves anymore, although he can still go get 'em when he's healthy.

GDawgs88 Wrote:Well, he's obviously not the player he was during his heyday in the '90's, and I don't know if I'd say he's one of the five best outfielders in the National League, but if he's ever able to play 150 games, he's still going to hit 40 homers and knock in 120 runs.

He's more of a one-trick pony now. He used to be such an incredible power-speed-defense combination, whereas now he's just a thumper. He never steals anymore, nor does he win Gold Gloves anymore, although he can still go get 'em when he's healthy.

what he said.

but i should add that i've always hated griffey. i can't explain it. something about him just sets me off. i've never liked the guy.

I'm just the opposite. I've always been a big Griffey fan.

flyingswoosh Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:Well, he's obviously not the player he was during his heyday in the '90's, and I don't know if I'd say he's one of the five best outfielders in the National League, but if he's ever able to play 150 games, he's still going to hit 40 homers and knock in 120 runs.

He's more of a one-trick pony now. He used to be such an incredible power-speed-defense combination, whereas now he's just a thumper. He never steals anymore, nor does he win Gold Gloves anymore, although he can still go get 'em when he's healthy.

what he said.

but i should add that i've always hated griffey. i can't explain it. something about him just sets me off. i've never liked the guy.

I'm the same way.... Maybe I just hate it when he stands there after he hits a homer or something.... can't put my finger on it...

I think he is still a very solid OF'er, but he is nowhere near what he was in Seatlle. My brother-in-law is a Reds fan and all I heard when he went to Cincy was WS Champs. I just kept replying, maybe you should look into some better pitching then... Anyways, if he can stay healthy, he should get to 500 homers and have a better than average chance at the HOF. I say better than average only because of his injury plagued year at Cincy...

I honestly feel if he'd have those years back, he'd be neck and neck with Bonds chasing Aaron (and passing Ruth).

jrhessey Wrote:I think he is still a very solid OF'er, but he is nowhere near what he was in Seatlle. My brother-in-law is a Reds fan and all I heard when he went to Cincy was WS Champs. I just kept replying, maybe you should look into some better pitching then... Anyways, if he can stay healthy, he should get to 500 homers and have a better than average chance at the HOF. I say better than average only because of his injury plagued year at Cincy...

I honestly feel if he'd have those years back, he'd be neck and neck with Bonds chasing Aaron (and passing Ruth).

lmfao he's been at 500 for a long time. he's at 546.

IMO he is definitely a HOFer.

Yeah, Griffey's been a HOF lock for some time.

flyingswoosh Wrote:

jrhessey Wrote:I think he is still a very solid OF'er, but he is nowhere near what he was in Seatlle. My brother-in-law is a Reds fan and all I heard when he went to Cincy was WS Champs. I just kept replying, maybe you should look into some better pitching then... Anyways, if he can stay healthy, he should get to 500 homers and have a better than average chance at the HOF. I say better than average only because of his injury plagued year at Cincy...

I honestly feel if he'd have those years back, he'd be neck and neck with Bonds chasing Aaron (and passing Ruth).

lmfao he's been at 500 for a long time. he's at 546.

IMO he is definitely a HOFer.

I read that, and thought, wtf was I thinking, 500 came against my Indians. I saw his stats over the weekend and for some reason thought it said in the mid 400's.

GDawgs88 Wrote:Yeah, Griffey's been a HOF lock for some time.

You guys think he is a lock... He hasn't done anything in his last 5 years for the Reds. His first year he hit 40, but only cleared 30 in one since then. His career in Cincy has been plagued by nothing but injury. He's averaged a little over 20 homers a year in his 6 years in Cincy. He had 400 homers in 99. 400! Almost 6 1/2 years later he has 546. I think he has a good chance at getting in there, he just isn't a shoe-in like he was before he came to Cincy.

jrhessey Wrote:

GDawgs88 Wrote:Yeah, Griffey's been a HOF lock for some time.

You guys think he is a lock... He hasn't done anything in his last 5 years for the Reds. His first year he hit 40, but only cleared 30 in one since then. His career in Cincy has been plagued by nothing but injury. He's averaged a little over 20 homers a year in his 6 years in Cincy. He had 400 homers in 99. 400! Almost 6 1/2 years later he has 546. I think he has a good chance at getting in there, he just isn't a shoe-in like he was before he came to Cincy.

i don't think a guy can go from shoe-in to borderline.

the only thing i don't like about him, is his obvious laziness when it comes to getting in shape. there are only two ways a guy could get injured that often; if he takes steroids and if he doesn't work hard in the offseason. now, as i doubt he was juicing, i conclude he probably wasn't a hard worker. he's probably one of the many guys who was so used to not working hard in the offseason before 30, because he was a freakish athlete. unfortunately, when guys like that start to age, their bodies need them to train harder. unfortunately they get into a bad habit and they tell themselves they don't need to work hard. the same thing happened to ray durham.

Do you think he is a first ballot HOF'er?

He's a lock, first-ballot, no doubt, shoe-in, Hall of Famer.

Best player of the '90's, 12-time all-star, '97 MVP, 10 Gold Gloves, led the AL in homers four times, 12th all-time in homers (should be top four by the time he retires), over 1500 RBI, etc.

It doesn't matter what he's done with the Reds, when you dominate a decade like he did in the '90's, you're in.

GDawgs88 Wrote:He's a lock, first-ballot, no doubt, shoe-in, Hall of Famer.

Best player of the '90's, 12-time all-star, '97 MVP, 10 Gold Gloves, led the AL in homers four times, 12th all-time in homers (should be top four by the time he retires), over 1500 RBI, etc.

It doesn't matter what he's done with the Reds, when you dominate a decade like he did in the '90's, you're in.

4 sure.