Ken Griffey Jr. hadn't appeared in the All-Star Game since 2007, but this year is the first in more than two decades that Junior won't be part of the game at large as an active member, having called it a career earlier this season. It's fitting then, that Nike would choose the All-Star break, when the general public focus on baseball is at its strongest until the trade deadline or even the playoffs, to unveil a send-off ad for the shoo-in future Hall of Famer.
A More Bittersweet Refrain Than Back, Back, Back: Goodbye
↵Set to home run calls from Seattle broadcaster Rick Rizzs, the video offers a sampling of the sweetest stroke in the game throughout his career, though it somehow neglects to include footage of one of the three homers he hit as a member of the White Sox. Considering also the timing of the video debut, Griffey’s homer off the warehouse in Baltimore during the ‘93 Home Run Derby would have been a nice addition. Nevertheless, it’s a touching farewell.
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