We caught up with newly inducted Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. to discuss the anger his retirement caused, his legacy, and why giving up baseball for fatherhood was a no-brainer.
This story appears in the July 4–11 edition of Sports Illustrated. Subscribe to the magazine here.
On May 31, 2010, Twins closer Jon Rauch threw a 91-mph fastball to the lefthanded pinch hitter the Mariners had brought on to try to erase a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth. The batter’s swing still had the qualities that made it the most famous, and most beautiful, since Ted Williams’s: the easy torque; the perfect arc; the low, one-handed follow-through.