Okay, so that's not a photo of Ken Griffey Jr for very obvious reasons, but the Mariners great is coming back for another go-around as the highest paid mascot in the American League. Mascot? Well he certainly isn't getting paid for his performance out on the field...
But if Griffey gets enough playing time to qualify, he seems an early candidate for worst DH of 2010. Father Time has come for The Kid. Since 2005, a comeback year in which he hit 35 homers and played his most games since 2000, he has a pedestrian .801 OPS and 105 OPS+ in 513 games — and he's been due $43.5 million dollars for his services.
He's not getting paid as much as he used to, but he just signed a for slight raise with the Mariners and will make $2.35 million plus incentives. Considering Griffey's stature in the city of Seattle, he's getting paid less for what he'll do on the field and more for his name recognition and clubhouse presence. Still, the M's should expect something from him.
I'll say that even though I didn't expect it (I expected the opposite), Griffey was a fantastic influence on the clubhouse and provided a little bit of glue for the team that was really lacking the year before. That's more than likely while the Mariners brought him back, that and to give fans a recognizable name. Anyone would be crazy to argue his actual statistical positive influence, I mean he got a lot of walks buuuut he was a gaping hole in the lineup so you do the math.
What should we expect from Griffey? Lets set the bar low and then either a letdown wont be such a painful experience and if he does somehow get his groove back, than hey! All the better.
Is that a Spokane Indians jersey?
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