Griffey Love-Fest in Seattle!

So, yes…once again I’ve been neglectful of my blog and all those who have been faithfully following my astrology-sports ramblings. Did I mention I have a new puppy? She’s almost sleeping through the night now…which means I get to sleep in four hour shifts instead of two hour shifts. With my wife traveling most of last week, I was able to experience some of the “joys” of single-parenting. Aaargh!!

‘Course, most babies don’t bite you too bad. Mine draws blood.

Oh, and just for the record, it turns out she’s actually a Sagittarius rising, not Capricorn. That’s a big difference. She’s still not barking but she’s got to be the jumpiest dog I’ve ever met. Luckily, she’s still short, so we’ve been able to keep her in the yard. Demure she is NOT; her early reticence with us in her first days were more a product of fear/nervousness of being in a new place…she’s over that now.

So anyway…I have still been keeping up with the sports, I just haven’t been able to blog like usual (and truth be told I’m involved in a couple other writing projects; none involving sports or astrology, but regarding mythology which is a lot of the same thing).

Point is, I DID watch the love-fest this last weekend as Ken Griffey Jr. returned to Seattle for the first time in…well, like quite a few years. Personally, I kind of forgot he was even still playing the Major Leagues…and I completely forgot what he meant to this city.

As I’ve pointed out before, I’m a lifelong Seattle resident. By the time Griffey came on the scene, I was 15 or so and already had my opinions formed of the Mariners: fun, but not the Seahawks. But there were a whole lot of kids in that magical 8-10 year old range that were going to see the M’s and Griffey play, and he sure helped cement baseball in their hearts!

And there was a LOT of hype in Seattle this last weekend, and mostly the good kind (nostalgia, dwelling on past success, emotion-laden memories). Griffey was touted as “the man who saved baseball in Seattle,” and many signs around Safeco Field carried the slogan “the house that Griffey built.”

Now, not to burst anyone’s bubble too maliciously, but I don’t recall Griffey being part of the Washington State legislature in the ‘90s. Fact o the matter is it was our elected officials that “saved” baseball and “built the house” after the residents of Seattle voted AGAINST building the M’s a new stadium. Griffey and Co. failed to sway the city to pony up the money for a new stadium in September of ’95 and in October (in the middle of the ALCS!) the legislature when behind the backs of the voters to institute new taxes that would fund the building of the stadium.

ANYWAY…what Junior DID do (along with J-Bone, 'Gar, Big Unit, and A-Rod) is instill a baseball following in a new generation of fans…both young Seattleites, and transplanted baseball fans (I’ve met two in the last week…one from Chicago and one from L.A., both of whom came to Seattle around 1989-90 and got into Griffey and the M’s). And that has carried on for nearly 20 years! Hope. That’s what it is. “Old-timers” like me have it for the Seahawks (if you ever saw Dave Krieg win a come-from-behind game after getting manhandled for four quarters, you’re a die-hard Seahawks hopeful). And the people who came a couple years after me have it for the Mariners.

And Griffey himself? He was pretty choked up by the warm reception. But what do you expect from a Scorpio? Sure, they mask their true feelings better than some, but they usually give it away by their actions (because their emotions so often get the better of ‘em). Does Griffey regret his decision to leave? Not much would be my guess. He didn’t leave for the money; his reasons were mostly for those things that matter most to Scorpio…his family (interpersonal relationships) and his ego. The ego part is about the fear of not hitting the same number of HRs in Safeco, the wanting to play for his father’s former team, and Cincy being an up-and-coming ball club. The family reason is that both Cincinnati and the Reds’ training facility (in Florida) allowed him to be closer to his family in Orlando. Plus, Griffey had grown up in Cincinnati.

Being a Scorp though often carries some strong feelings about “what might have been.” Because of the tendency to act on emotional (“passionate” in traditional terms) impulses, there’s plenty of room for both remorse and second-guessing in the Scorpio psyche…even when the Scorpio made what was ultimately the right decision for his or her personal growth and well-being. I’m sure Griffey would think it’d be cool to have a street named after him like Edgar. I’m sure he would have liked to retire a life-long (and beloved) star of a single team, like Buhner. I’m sure he feels that his bat could have made a difference in some of the M’s recent play-off runs.

But he did what he felt was best for his own emotional stability…and in the long-run this is a good thing for anyone with a volatile emotions (like Scorpios). He was able to spend more time with his family. He did get longer off-seasons and shorter plane rides. And when his career in baseball has been over more than a few years, he will be able to look back with much LESS regret and say, ‘thank goodness I made the decisions I did. Baseball’s just a game and a job after all, and only but a single chapter in a life.’

Besides…now that his career’s winding down and Edgar’s retired, maybe he can come back to the Mariners as our Designated Hitter. We’d certainly love to have him finish out his Hall of Fame career in an M’s cap!