Welcome back to 1989!
Box office hits are Lethal Weapon 2, Back to the Future Part II, Ghostbusters II, The Little Mermaid, License to Kill, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and When Harry Met Sally.
Prince, Madonna, Duran Duran, New Kids On The Block, Erasure, R.E.M, Paula Abdul, The Bangles, Cher, Elvis Costello, and Depeche Mode are topping the music charts.
George H.W. Bush is the US president, gas is under $1.00, stamps are only $0.25, Nintendo just introduced Gameboy, The Simpsons aired its first episode, the Berlin Wall came down, student protests occurred in Tiananmen Square, and Ken Griffey Jr. made his major league debut, hitting a double in his first at-bat and hitting a homer in his first at-bat in the Kingdome.
Fast forward 20 years; Junior is back to where it all began. Carrying the prettiest swing in baseball, The Kid can still hit the long ball without the steroids, unlike a certain other someone. He’s 38 and may not fly to chase down balls in the outfield like he’s 18 again, but he’s Ken Griffey Jr.
Seattle may have had the worst year in sports history, and that trend will most likely continue, but Junior will give the city something to cheer and reminisce about.
1995 was pretty much their best year when they made it to the ALCS, but that’s about it. 2001 was a season to remember when Ichiro stole the show winning the Rookie of the Year and AL MVP awards, while the Mariners won 116 games, but they couldn’t even get out of the first round of the playoffs.
The past nor the future doesn’t look good for the M’s, but we can all think back and enjoy the days when Junior was patrolling the outfield, Omar Vizquel dancing around the infield, Jamie Moyer looking much younger and Randy Johnson throwing 100 mph. Now add in Ichiro in right field, Edgar Martinez at DH, John Olerud, Raul Ibanez, Alex Rodriguez, Bret Boone, and Felix Hernandez. That’s a true All-Star team. Don’t you wish the M’s and Safeco Field could turn back the clock and compete with all those players together?
Too bad dreams never come true, and the reality is that the Seattle Mariners are still with the bottom feeders of the American League. Don’t get me wrong, Seattle’s an awesome city and I love it, but if I could ask Ken Griffey Jr. to do one thing, please bring back your Nike Air Griffey Max and rock it when I see you this spring.
