Ken Griffey Jr. issued a prepared statement when he suddenly retired from baseball last June -- and didn't say another word about it.
Finally, at spring training Wednesday with the Seattle Mariners, Griffey discussed his reasons for leaving the game and the way he did it, insisting it will be the only time he addresses it.
"I just felt that it was more important for me to retire and instead of being a distraction, it no longer became the Seattle Mariners, it became, 'When is Ken doing this? When is Ken doing that?' and that's something I didn't want to have my teammates, who I truly cared about, having to answer these types of questions day in and day out," Griffey said in Peoria, Ariz.
Griffey reminded reporters that he previously had said when it came time to walk away, he would do it quickly and quietly.
"You want me to apologize for something that I felt was right? I had to do what I thought was right for me," he said.
Griffey was batting .184 with no home runs and seven RBIs when, on June 2, he issued a retirement statement through the Mariners, got in his car and drove home to Orlando, Fla., abruptly ending a 22-season career.
Griffey said Wednesday that he previously had told the Mariners' front office "that if I become a distraction or feel that I would be a distraction, then I would retire, because that's the one thing that I didn't want," according to the Seattle Times.
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