Post by Fish Troll on Aug 2, 2008 23:52:05 GMT -5
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Ken Griffey Jr. thanked Cincinnati Reds fans on Saturday for their support during his nine seasons in his hometown, and apologized to them for his throat-slash gesture last weekend.
The Reds traded Griffey to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, when the team was in Washington. He issued a statement through the Reds' public relations department thanking everyone for his time in Cincinnati, which acquired him in a 2000 trade.
After he hit what turned out to be his final home run in Cincinnati last Saturday, he reached the dugout and made a throat-slash gesture toward the broadcast booth. Griffey was upset over the way a Reds broadcaster had criticized him on the air.
"I really do understand that the overwhelming majority of fans wanted so badly for me to succeed," Griffey said. "Additionally, I would like to sincerely apologize to those fans offended by my wrongful actions last Saturday night. It was an overreaction on my part to what I felt was a series of public, inaccurate and unfair remarks about me."
Griffey's stay in Cincinnati was bittersweet. A series of injuries reduced him to part-time duty, and fans directed their frustration over seven straight losing seasons at the team's most prominent player.
"While my nine seasons there were filled with personal highlights -- like hitting my 400th, 500th and 600th home runs in a Reds uniform -- and the negatives of having to fight through too many injuries, my biggest regret is that we were not able to win a world championship while I was there," Griffey said.
The Reds traded Griffey to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, when the team was in Washington. He issued a statement through the Reds' public relations department thanking everyone for his time in Cincinnati, which acquired him in a 2000 trade.
After he hit what turned out to be his final home run in Cincinnati last Saturday, he reached the dugout and made a throat-slash gesture toward the broadcast booth. Griffey was upset over the way a Reds broadcaster had criticized him on the air.
"I really do understand that the overwhelming majority of fans wanted so badly for me to succeed," Griffey said. "Additionally, I would like to sincerely apologize to those fans offended by my wrongful actions last Saturday night. It was an overreaction on my part to what I felt was a series of public, inaccurate and unfair remarks about me."
Griffey's stay in Cincinnati was bittersweet. A series of injuries reduced him to part-time duty, and fans directed their frustration over seven straight losing seasons at the team's most prominent player.
"While my nine seasons there were filled with personal highlights -- like hitting my 400th, 500th and 600th home runs in a Reds uniform -- and the negatives of having to fight through too many injuries, my biggest regret is that we were not able to win a world championship while I was there," Griffey said.
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/08/02/bc.bbo.reds.griffeyapol.ap/index.html
Griffey! Griffey! Griffey!
