Mike Cameron: A Retrospective, Part I

So, as I'm sure you saw, Mike Cameron announced his retirement yesterday. Dude's kickin' down forty's door and decided not to drag out the inevitable; I, for one, respect that. He spent his career as one of the premier centerfielders in the game, albeit underrated. I'm sure some thought of him as a fluky footnote since he once hit four homers in a game as a Mariner; others likely recall him as the return for Junior Griffey that put him in that spot. A smaller group thinks likewise; only substitute Paul Konerko's name and a championship. Reds fans probably thought terrible things about him because they're all from Kentucky (just kidding, Tyler, Cody and Nic!) and Brewers fans likely remember him most as the guy who missed the first 25 games after signing with them because he was suspended for doing some sort of go-fast. His time as a Met was lowlighted by a career-threatening and face-rearrainging collision. I can only imagine that Sawwwwwwx fans think like the aforementioned Reds fans and his declining performance didn't help. All Marlins fans have to go by is a similarly turdy performance in his swansong capped off by a release following an outburst on a flight attendant. But you don't come here to read what White Sox, Reds, Mariners, Mets, Brewers, Red Sox or Marlins fans think. Tomorrow in Part II, I'll ruminate on his time in San Diego and break down his performance in each game I saw him play in person (only seven, I think)...