Ken Griffey Jr Named To State Dept. Post

[rsmith6621]

As I may have mentioned before, I tend to always measure and lament my rapidly advancing age against the life progression of Ken Griffey Jr.

That sounds a bit weird and maybe pathetic, but I'm sure I'm not the only one to use the career span of a ballplayer as a benchmark. When I was 12, I used all of my earnings to try to pull his rookie from packs of Upper Deck. Now, as he nears the end of his career, I'm worried about things like 401Ks and losing all of my earnings to the state of the economy. The circle of life ain't what it's cracked up to be.

At any rate, to see Griffey named an American Public Diplomacy Envoy by Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday enhanced the contrast even more. Once derided by baseball's old guard for doing things like wearing his hat backward, blowing bubblegum bubbles and endorsing video games, The Kid outgrew all of that to become not only an elder statesman of the sport but of the entire country. (Again, people of my generation — we are getting old.)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Ken-Griffey-Jr-goes-to-Washington-makes-us-all?urn=mlb,123207

[Ken Burch]

1. Does this mean Jose Canseco's gonna get a job with the FDA?

n/t.

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. Barry Bonds will be FDA. Pete Rose will be Treasury.

Gambling... get it?

[Bake]

12. Junior never juiced. Or cheated.

Or gambled (that we know of).

Junior is a class act. A great player with the sweetest swing in baseball.

Bake

[madinmaryland]

14. Pete Rose will be head of the SEC.

Lotsa gambling on Wall Street!

[Deja Q]

2. As I recall, Pete Rose gambled... Fortunately, the Federal Reserve is a private organization...

[martymar64]

4. Way to go Junior!

I cried when he left the Mariners.

[recoveringdittohed]

5. Vince Coleman could be in charge of the TARP

He has experience with tarps

[dazzlerazzle]

11. Coleman and the tarp

I remember that. It had to be embaarassing, and maybe painful. If I remember,he was out for some time after that. The guy was fast, but the tarp snuck up on him.

[PaDem]

6. ah, the Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck Rookie Card......

my recollection was that it was card #1 in the 1989 set. I got a few in packs, and sold them years later at card shows. I think I still have one in perfect condition.

[Berry Cool]

7. Let's not be silly here. The only way we could end up with a Cabinet full of baseball players

is if Keith Olbermann were elected president.

[Ken Burch]

9. Much as I like Keith, an Olbermann Administration could be scary.

After all, what would a man who had control of the nuclear stockpile do to "The Worst Person In The World"?

[Sanctified]

8. I met Ken a few times, him and his wife were always pleasant. n/t

[foxfeet]

10. Just don't piss him off by asking for an autograph.

[Sanctified]

13. He hooked me up with a signed ball even though I did not ask for it.

Jay Buhner was also a really cool guy, him and his wife were always really down to earth and easy to talk too and you never felt like he thought of himself as better than anyone else because he played professional baseball.