To those who personally maligned Ken Griffey, Jr., I say SHAME ON YOU! Ken Jr. showed his true class and integrity by saying goodbye to Reds fans in an honorable fashion that some of the cowards in talk radio land would never do or acknowledge (read Alan Cutler and Bill Cunningham):
I would like to thank the Cincinnati Reds organization for allowing me to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing for my hometown team. I will always value the lasting friendships I have with the Lindner, Castellini and Williams families.
While my nine seasons there were filled with personal highlights -- like hitting my 400th, 500th and 600th home runs in a Reds uniform -- and the negatives of having to fight through too many injuries, my biggest regret is that we were not able to win a world championship while I was there.
I also would like to thank my many teammates, managers, coaches and Reds employees for their help and support and to acknowledge the many friendly relationships I had with most of the members of the local media. I will miss the banter.
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank Reds fans for their support. I really do understand that the overwhelming majority of fans wanted so badly for me to succeed. Additionally, I would like to sincerely apologize to those fans offended by my wrongful actions last Saturday night. It was an overreaction on my part to what I felt was a series of public inaccurate and unfair remarks about me.
I wish nothing but success for the Reds both on and off the field.
Sincerely,
Ken Griffey Jr.
Now, Griffey could have maligned the Lindners, the Castellinis, the Allens, and the Bowdens for the lies fed him and the fans/hosts on talk radio...but he did not. He could have talked about how the Reds lied to him when they said they would spend money, that the fans blamed him for the Reds slide unfairly, but he didn't. He could have talked about how he worked hard in the community and tried to work hard but suffered injuries, but people didn't get it. He did the classy thing. As I said, I wish it all would have ended differently, but fans here don't hold ownership accountable. Instead, they give them new stadiums. I wish him and the White Sox the best and hope he goes far in the playoffs. Cowards like Cutler and Cunningham are some of the reasons people don't like this town.
God bless Ken Griffey, Jr. God bless America....and Adam Dunn simply stinks....Ken Griffey, Jr. is one of the best players ever, and watching him, even in decline, was something I will cherish. I will tell my grandkids and future generations of the greatest player I have ever seen. I will tell my grandkids about meeting him and talking with him about my sister missing out on meeting him, because she was in college, and Jr. said that she was better off in school than in skipping to "meet an old guy like me", and how much he appreciated us who came out to see him, and how much he loved the Reds and Joe Nuxhall (unlike Adam Dunn, who didn't even come in for the funeral)...and the Reds will still not get it until fans hold them accountable, until talk radio callers and hosts sing out and quit shilling the party line...and as long as Adam Dunn is on this team, the culture just won't change....and I won't spend my change to watch them....
And where is Chris Henry, Odell Thurman, and Chad Johnson's apologies for embarrassing and juvenile behavior? Cricket, cricket....
