A RETIREMENT
Ken Griffey, Jr, the greatest center fielder of my generation, announced his retirement on Wednesday, June 2. He was only batting only .184 with no homeruns and seven runs batted in, in 33 games this season. Despite his struggles this season, Griffey left the game as one of the greatest players in the history of the game and a first ballot Hall of Famer. His sweet swing produced 630 career homeruns which ranks him fifth on the all-time list. He also won 10 Gold Glove Awards which ranks him second behind Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente (12 apiece) for the most ever by an outfielder in their career. He also made the All-Century team at the age of 29. His youthful enthusiasm for the game, his sweet swing, and his great defense will all be missed. He was my favorite player growing up, as well as the favorite of so many during his era. We were truly blessed to have seen such a talent during our lifetime.A Passing of a Legend
John Wooden, 99, passed away on Friday, June 4th. Wooden was the Head Men's Basketball Coach at UCLA from 1948-1975. He won 10 National Championships (including 7 in a row from 1966-1973), won 620 career games, 38 game NCAA Tournament winning streak (1964-1974) and lead his team to an 88-game winning streak from 1971-1974. He also coached some of the greatest players in basketball history. What he will probably be remembered for most, from my era, was not for his coaching (since he retired from coaching 3 years before I was born) but his motivational books and pyramid of success. He wrote several books which were not really about basketball, but more about life. His quotes are legendary, "Be quick, but don't hurry", "Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail", and "Flexibility is the key to stability". There are many, many more as well. He was a true master of the spoken and written word. Another big part of his life, was the love affair he maintained with his wife Nell, after her death in 1985. She passed away on March 21st of that year. On the 21st of every month, from then until his passing, he wrote her a love letter. He placed it in an envelope and then on the pillow that she used to sleep on. He never remarried and was still very much in love with her until the day he died. It is a remarkable story of love and faith and one we should all learn about. Now that he has left us, he is now in heaven with her, and truly a happy man to be reunited with the love of his life, both in this life and beyond.A Historic Hitting Streak
Before the last couple of weeks, no one had heard of Florida International's (FIU) Garrett Wittels and chances are, you still may not know him. He is a baseball player for FIU and yesterday tied Joe DiMaggio's (yes, that Joe DiMaggio) 56-game hitting streak. Having a hit in that many games in a row is an amazing feat. No one in the Major Leagues has even approached DiMaggio. Wittels needs a hit in his next two games to tie the all-time record at any level. Robin Ventura hit in 58 straight games in 1987 while at college at Oklahoma State. Wittels will be waiting months just to get his next at-bat. His FIU team was eliminated from the NCAA Coral Gables Regional by Dartmouth, 15-9. In that game, Wittels hit a double in his first at-bat to extend the streak, and added two more hits, including a single in his last at-bat of the season. Having to wait about eight months for his next at-bat will make it interesting as to whether or not he can extend hist streak and break Ventura's record. All I know is, that I will be watching and hoping the long layoff will not affect Wittel's and he can break the record that's stood for 23 years.
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