Ken Griffey Jr.

They always said that the Kid played the game with class and a sense of fun, but frankly, I never really thought much of him. Maybe if I was a fan of the game when he and his father homered in the same game, but since I wasn't... yeah.
It seemed like it was such a big deal when he came across to the Reds in 2000, but it never was. He hit 40 homeruns the first year and trailed off every year after that except for a slight spike from 2005-2007.
Most of the time, he was injured.
Now, he's just washed up.
It was supposed to be a big deal when he came home to finish where he began. Seattle welcomed him with open arms. He rewarded them with 5 RBIs in 77 at bats. That said, it's hard to hit homeruns when you have a batting average that is points above the Mendoza Line. In addition, he decided that he would go for a nap in the clubhouse, and was unavailable to pinch hit when the Mariners needed him.
As a result, ne now faces the choice of retirement or to be released from Seattle, which really says something because the whole team not named Ichiro Suzuki has either lacked production or been injured too long to truly add up to anything, which really makes me glad that I didn't get Felix Hernandez in my draft this year.
Baseball's last great hope to cleanly climb up the ladder of career homeruns is all but done at 630 (but wait, there is another... THANK GOD for Albert Pujols). Somehow, this seems fitting in this transition year that we are in. Bring in the new. Build for the future. Will Faulkner was wrong. The past has past and it is dead.
How long until the Mariners fire sale? How long until Ichiro finds a new home? How long until King Felix gets sent to a contender and we find out if he's real or hype?
As the cold days of May keep getting cooler, we wait to see what good things that summer will bring.