If A Tree Falls In The Forest And No One Is There To Hear It, Does It Make A Sound?

ESPN - Mariners great Ken Griffey Jr. retired on Wednesday at the age of 40. He finishes his career with 630 homers, fifth on the all-time list.

"While I feel I am still able to make a contribution on the field and nobody in the Mariners front office 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," Griffey said.

"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 teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be," he said.

Did Ken Griffey Jr. just really retire? Guy hit 630 jacks and was the face of MLB for a decade and he got completely Jim Joyced by Jim Joyce on his way out. Christ, I thought they would be giving people the day off of work when Griffey finally retired but he was lucky to even get a mention on PTI yesterday.

I imagine this is exactly how he envisioned it though, thanking the fans and where everyone remembers your final parting words, "I feel that without enough occasional starts, there is no way I will be able to stay awake in the dugout". Total Lou Gehrig moment.