Like most of the people that posted above that are around my age (27), I would say that Griffey was not only my favorite player, but probably was solely responsible for getting me started collecting cards. When I was 8-15 years old, when most kids start collecting cards, he was the best player in baseball IMO.
I wish I had gotten a chance to see him play more, in person or on TV. I am from the midwest, and really, the only time I got to see Griffey was SportsCenter highlights. I saw him quite a few times when at Cardinals games when he was with the Reds, but by then, he wasn't the player he was in the 90s.
When I saw yesterday that he retired, it was kind of like I was all of a sudden old at the age of 27. I think he is the best player of his generation for sure considering the numbers, and he put up those numbers without the use of PEDs and did it off of some juiced pitchers. Thanks for the memories Griffey, and thank you for doing it clean.
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