In the End, Griffey Lacked Staying Power

There’s little question that Ken Griffey Jr. is on his way to Cooperstown. And until this off-season, it seemed that Griffey would go in as a Seattle Mariner.

He was as much a part of Seattle as Pike Place Market and as big a presence in the Emerald City as the Space Needle.

But he soured on the Mariners, saying he wanted to play closer to his home in Florida, and his self-induced trade Thursday to the Cincinnati Reds ensured that he’d join a legion of contemporary players seemingly bound for the Hall of Fame with “Traded” stamped on their resumes.

Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa have all felt the sting of being dealt at least once.

Of active players with reservations already made for Cooperstown, only the Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken Jr. and the San Diego Padres’ Tony Gwynn have been with one team throughout their careers.

Hall of Famers spending their entire career with one organization is an accomplishment that has become increasingly rare. Especially with players gaining free agency and the right to request a trade as well as decline one.

Consider: Of the 244 players currently enshrined in Cooperstown, 41 played with one team. Of those 41, eight retired after the 1975 Andy Messersmith case, which ushered in the era of free agency.

Brooks Robinson, who retired from the Orioles in 1977, was basically finished when the additional rights floated the players’ way.

Willie Stargell, who retired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1982, Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski, who both retired in 1983 from the Reds and Boston Red Sox, respectively, and Jim Palmer, who retired in 1984 from the Orioles, were all at the end of their careers as well and not too attractive to potential suitors.

That makes the cases of Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Robin Yount all the more significant.

The threesome played at the height of free agency and blockbuster trades.

Schmidt played with the Philadelphia Phillies for 18 years, retiring in 1989. Brett and Yount retired in 1993. Brett was with the Kansas City Royals for 21 seasons and Yount was a Milwaukee Brewer for 20 years.