Mariners legend Griffey retires

Griffey retires from baseball with a lifetime batting average of .284

Seattle Mariners legend Ken Griffey Junior has announced his retirement from baseball at the age of 40.

The outfielder hit 630 home runs in his 22-year Major League career, leaving him fifth on the all-time list.

He was regarded as one of the world's best players in the 1990s before injuries took their toll, although he never played in a World Series.

"This has been on my mind recently, but it's not an easy decision to come by," Griffey said in a statement.

"While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody has asked me to retire, I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction.

606: DEBATE A modern day legend. I was lucky enough to be at Yankee Stadium last July to see him hit HR#621 off Andy Pettitte Parkman77

"I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my team-mates."

He made his Major League debut for Seattle in 1989, playing alongside his father Ken Griffey Senior in 1990 and 1991.

After more than a decade in Seattle, where he was hugely popular with the fans, he joined his hometown Cincinnati Reds in 2000, and after a brief spell with Chicago White Sox in 2008, returned to the Mariners in 2009.

A fan wipes away a tear at a video tribute to Griffey at Tuesday's game

He announced his retirement just before Tuesday's home game against the Minnesota Twins, which Seattle won 2-1 in 10 innings.

"Ken is both the finest ballplayer I have ever known, one of the finest people I have ever known and the heart and soul of this franchise," added Mariners president Chuck Armstrong, who also credited Griffey with helping the team remain in Seattle and get a new stadium in 1999.

"Without his contributions there is little doubt that Safeco Field would not exist and, almost certainly, baseball would have left the North West."

Griffey was named in 13 All-Star teams during his career, while his defensive excellence earned him 10 Gold Gloves. He was voted as the American League's most valuable player in 1997 and chosen for MLB's team of the century in 1999.

However, he had struggled for much of this season and had denied claims that he fell asleep in the clubhouse during a game.

Giffey hit more than 40 home runs in seven seasons between 1993 and 2000, but unlike many of his power-hitting contemporaries from the "steroid era", was never tainted by accusations of performance-enhancing drugs.

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