According to numerous sources, veteran Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. was unavailable to pinch-hit on Saturday after falling asleep in the clubhouse. Seriously.

Associated Press (via ESPN):

But according to two unnamed younger Seattle players who are both fond of Griffey, the future Hall of Famer had fallen asleep.

"He was asleep in the clubhouse," one player told the Tribune. "He'd gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn't come back. I went back in about the seventh inning -- and he was in his chair, sound asleep."

Now, I have to be honest. Griffey Jr. is one of my all-time favorite players. Loved him growing up during his first stint in Seattle, just like every other kid born in the mid-1980s. He was the premier player in the 1990s, delivering consistent highlight-reel catches and 40-homer seasons. Unfortunately, his career was ravaged by injuries after signing with the Cincinnati Reds.

Nonetheless, Griffey is still one of the greatest players of all time, a no-doubt-a-bout-it Hall-of Famer. But this is crap. Falling asleep during a game is unacceptable for any player, especially someone brought back for a second goodbye reunion in large part due to his “leadership qualities.” Quite frankly, as much praise as Mariners GM Jack Zdurenczick has received for his “run prevention” strategy and impressive offseason, bringing back Griffey was a poor decision. Perhaps ownership tied his hands, given how much the player has meant to the franchise, but even at the time Griffey seemed like a wasted roster spot. Sure, he did not cost much in terms of salary, but the opportunity cost of the roster spot cannot be overlooked. The M’s offense is among the worst in the game, and brining back Griffey also prevented them from improving at the DH spot elsewhere in free agency. For a guy who hit just .214/.324/.411 last season, it was a truly puzzling choice based more on sentiment than sound thought processes

Alas, Griffey, like seemingly every other Seattle outfielder/DH, has gotten off to a terrible start at the plate. He is hitting just .208/.265/.234 without a home run in 83 plate appearances so far in 2010, good for a well-below-league-average 40 OPS+. Plus, he cannot field at his current age. Which is hardly a surprise. Now, he is likely to be released—following the fate of Eric Byrnes, who could at least play defense—while the trendy sleeper pick M’s reside in the cellar of the American League West.

And, to make matters worse, the glorified hitting coach pulled a stunt like that. Unreal. Griffey is long been viewed as one of the good guys to the point, universally praised as the most talented player never to use steroids despite the fact that nobody will ever know for sure. And, for the most part, his reputation is merited. In this instance, though, can you imagine the outrage if it were Milton Bradley who was the one to fall asleep mid-game?

The Griffey situation is just another example of why loyalty does not really go far in a cutthroat industry like professional baseball. Friendship is nice, but winning—and targeting players who can help a team do so—is better.

That said, again this hiccup and failed goodbye, take two, should not take away from an excellent career. He still has 630 home runs and a trophy case of Gold Gloves. According to BaseballProjection.com, he ranks 39th in baseball history with 79.2 Wins Above Replacement. So, to those who forget how great and influential he was, keep that in mind. He definitely messed up with the sleeping but was still a class act for most of his career. The real blame this season falls on the Mariners’ front office for refusing to let go. Not him.

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