As a left-handed kid who played baseball — and let’s face it, a baseball fan in the 1990s — I was a huge fan of Ken Griffey Jr.

He hit home runs. He made awesome catches in center field. He brought a youthful energy to the game that made him the most likable perennial fixture at the All Star Game.

Oh and he had a sweet batting stance every kid mimicked in their back yard and for a few swings at baseball practice.

Now his baseball career is over after his retirement Wednesday night.

He leaves behind a legacy of home runs without a hint of steroid suspicion and a thousand what-ifs related to his far-too-numerous season-ending injuries. Fortunately he also leaves the Nintendo 64 game Major League Baseball with Ken Griffey Jr. Even today, it remains one of my favorite video games of all time.

I recently reacquired a copy thanks to eBay, and though the graphics seem incredibly outdated, the game itself is as fun as ever. It’s not really a challenge — my brother and I have racked up so many wins by dozens and dozens of runs it hardly seems we could ever lose a game. In fact, we even played an entire season as the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays and never felt we were in danger of not achieving perfection.

I am also not ashamed to admit I mis-heard the lyrics to the song at the beginning of the game for a long time. Take a listen:

Did you catch the words? I originally thought Griffey said “Home, home, homey-G.” Imagine my facepalm when my brother gave me the “are you an idiot” look with the corrected “Call, call, call me Junior,” which clearly makes more sense.

The makers of the game also put in a nice feature after any time you make a jumping or diving catch. Griffey will respond to your efforts with something like “fantastic play” or “great catch.” So if you get bored and want someone to talk to, just hit the jump button right before you catch a fly ball (really easy), and let the following unfold:

Griffey: “Fantastic play!”
You: “Why thank you.”

Now that he is retired, here’s to hoping he takes a few hours to play the N64 game and have that conversation with himself.