In a city that lost its NBA basketball team thanks to relocation to Oklahoma City, lies a Major League Baseball team fresh off a 101-loss 2008 season.

Seattle, Washington is the home of Starbucks Coffee, the setting of the fiction Seattle Grace Hospital for the hit ABC series Grey’s Anatomy, the location of the infamous Space Needle and the birthplace of Rainn Wilson (the guy who plays Dwight from ‘The Office’).

But now, Seattle is once again home to its most notable sports figure and perhaps its most famous baseball player. On February 18, 2009, Seattle once again became the home of Ken Griffey Jr. as he signed a one-year deal with the Mariners, the team that he began his career with back in 1989.

After considering an offer from the Atlanta Braves (which I would have loved since I could go and see him play), Griffey being back in Seattle has gotten the entire city excited about sports again, according to this Seattle Times Article, and Junior will be compensated based on the attendance numbers in Seattle, which have been poor in the last few seasons.

As much as I would have liked seeing him with the Braves, I like this move for Griffey and for sports fans in Seattle, who have had to deal with a lot over the past year. He gets an opportunity to close out his career with the team that he made famous in the 90’s and the club that he hit 398 of his 611 career homeruns with.

The thing I don’t like about it is the fact that I feel that Griffey is one player that is truly deserving of a World Series victory. Him being back in Seattle won’t be enough to get them to the postseason, in my opinion, but I do think it will put fans in the stands. Then again, though, baseball is unpredictable. Look at the Tampa Bay Rays from last season and the Colorado Rockies from the season before.

I just wish Griffey, 39, who is one player that has never been accused (that we know of) for trying to make his body invincible by using performance enhancing drugs or HGH, would be able to get a championship ring before he retires. When all is said and done, he could be looked at as the guy that did it cleanly and was legit and could be used as baseball’s model of players who don’t need to cheat to get by.

I still think Griffey has another 25-30 homeruns in him this season, especially if they just use him as the designated hitter. I wish he was the one that was going to pass Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds’ homerun record but a slew of injuries in Cincinnati slowed him down.

I’m excited for Junior. I’m excited for the city of Seattle. Move over, Ichiro. The Mariners are once again Ken Griffey’s team. Look out, Seattle. The Kid is coming home.