Ken Griffey Jr.

SEATTLE — Ken Griffey Jr. arrived in baseball a fresh-faced teenager with a radiant smile, a carefree attitude and unlimited potential.

He spent 22 seasons becoming lauded as the greatest player of his generation.

Even as his career declined through injuries and age, Griffey left the game on his own terms and still held in the highest of regards and one of the greats in baseball history.

Now relegated to part-time duty and with little pop left in that perfect swing, Griffey unexpectedly decided Wednesday to retire after 22 mostly brilliant seasons.

The Kid who once saved baseball in the Pacific Northwest with his backward hat, giddy teenage smile and unrivaled talent, had become a shell of the player who dominated the 1990s.

The 40-year-old Griffey wasn't at Safeco Field Wednesday. He simply released a statement through the Seattle Mariners — the franchise he helped saved in the 1990s and returned to for the conclusion of his career — that he was done playing.

Griffey said goodbye before Seattle played the Minnesota Twins after 13 All-Star appearances, 630 homers — fifth on the career list — and 1,836 RBI. He's an almost certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.

There won't be a farewell tour for Griffey.

He called Mariners team president Chuck Armstrong and said he was done playing. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu pulled his players together before the start of batting practice to inform them of Griffey's decision.

"To play with him is a treasure I will keep deep in my heart," Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki said through an interpreter. "I have played 19 years in professional baseball and I can say he was one of my best teammates and my best friend."

A star from the time he was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft, Griffey also played with his hometown Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. He hit .284 with 1,836 RBI.