Ken Griffey Jr. retires

One morning during what turned out to be his final spring training, Ken Griffey Jr. watched the retirement news conference of another notable player on television and shook his head.

His retirement notice, he said, would arrive as quietly as possible. A simple announcement would be sent to the media, and then he'd be gone.

So it was Wednesday as Griffey — the greatest player in Mariners history and one of the greatest in the history of the game — said goodbye to baseball.