The Best Story of 2008

I have found a way to restore the faith of baseball fans everywhere to Major League Baseball. That's right, like 1998 and the home run rally, this could make a difference in how baseball is perceived for years to come.

Bring Ken Griffey Jr. home. Bring Randy Johnson home. Now, that would be a heck of a lineup. Ichiro and Griffey together at long last!

Think about it. Seattle of the mid-90s was the team that was perfect for everyone to root for because they were exciting but unintimidating. No one actually thought they would win the World Series, but everyone wanted to watch their games. As a result, a lot of fans have a soft spot for the Mariners, a little place where when they see them with a chance to beat those boring but consistent Athletics and those exceptionally good, but not fun to watch Angels, they can't help but root for them.

1995 - 2000 were good years for the AL West as far as competitiveness. Only the Athletics had sub-70 win seasons ever (twice). And there was a lot of innocence in that league. Griffey was just this guy who was fun to watch. Johnson threw fire and looked like he still lived in a trailer. Jay Buhner was silly. Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, J.T. Snow, Chuck Finley and Jim Abbott. Oakland started with McGwire and ended with normal Giambi, Tejada, Chavez, and goofy Matt Stairs. Only Texas didn't have a likeable team. They had nice guys like the underrated Dean Palmer and Will Clark, but their leader was Juan Gonzalez and he gets a big thumbs down.

The point is that during that era, the Yankees were dominating, the Indians were fun and the Braves were choke artists, but the division that was the most fun to watch was the AL West.

Griffey needs to leave the Reds. That much is obvious. Where else is he going to go? He needs to go back to Seattle. He's second in home runs in the NL with 18 despite missing a number of games. They guy is still amazing to watch. His swing is so clean and beautiful. He's never looked right in a Reds uniform. Imagine if this year he hits the 45 or so home runs that he's on pace for. He would then be easily on pace for 700 again. Cincinnati has never really loved him as anything other than a hometown kid, never the hero. He has always been hurt and never led them to the promised land. In Seattle, he could lead them there because they already have a good, young team that's fun to watch. And the nostalgia would be there. And Ichiro. Those two are like a match made in heaven. Add in Johjima, Ibanez, and Betancourt and you can't find a more likeable nucleus in the league. And Beltre can just go back to being a great fielding third basemen.

Johnson doesn't have a lot of time left in his career, but he would fit right into the Mariners staff. He could take the pressure off King Felix, which could spawn a Cy Young for the kid. And pitching back there, I wouldn't be surprised to see Johnson reel off a clutch season or two, where his ERA drops back to the low 3's.

I can't think of anyone who could rationally be opposed to this. A great run by these new Mariners would make people smile. Selig needs to make this happen. Maybe he can bully the right people. Then next year can be a great year to watch baseball again.