Griffey Launches Number 600

Ken Griffey Jr. hits number 600 in the first inning
against the Florida Marlins in the first inning yesterday.



Ken Griffey Jr. ended the nine days of waiting and hit career home run number 600 off of Florida Marlins pitcher Mark Hendrickson today as Junior's Cincinnati Reds defeated the Marlins 9-4. He joins only Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds as the only players to ever reach the 600 home run plateau.

It's hard to wonder where Griffey, 39, would have ended up had his career not been deterred by injuries. It also makes you wonder that around now maybe Griffey would be challenging Barry Bonds' record and maybe steroids wouldn't be such a prevalent topic knowing that the player holding the record had done it legitimately.

Until Alex Rodriguez hit his prime, Griffey was the most complete baseball player I ever saw and probably ever will. In 1999, many fans thought so too as he was voted to the MasterCard Major League Baseball All-Century Team. At 29-years-old he was the youngest player on that list, today he remains the list's only active player.

How can I be so sure he was clean? Well I don't know about you but I'll always remember Griffey being that lanky kid on the Seattle Mariners with that effortless stride, perfect swing and keen baseball sense (and Junior's baseball game for the Nintendo 64, it wasn't great, but it wasn't "Mike Piazza's Strike Zone" either). He'll always be that 25-year-old kid with a smile on his face, his cap backward, and that awkward yet strangely smooth batting stance. He's a little heavier now but nothing questionable and still has that beautiful swing.

As a Met fan, I'll remember Edgar Martinez's double in the 9th inning against the Yankees in the 1995 ALDs when Griffey slid into home to score the winning run and completed the 0-2 series comeback. The Mariners were bounced in the ALCs that year and the Atlanta Braves won the World Series, but I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. Forget that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire home run race of 1998, it was the complete talent of Griffey and the dominance of teammate Randy Johnson that revived the game from 1995-1998 after the strike.

Now why do most people not remember it this way? Outside of the commercials and the video games, he never desired the attention. In fact back in January of 1988 , only a few months after the Mariners took in in the first pick of the 1987 amateur draft, he attempted suicide by swallowing 277 aspirin. He struggled to cope with the overwhelming media attention, he was only 19 when he found himself on the 1989 Mariners opening day roster.

It would of been a great thing had the Mariners actually been a decent team this year as Junior had suggested finishing his career in Seattle. But the Mariners aren't close to making a run and remain one of the worst teams in baseball. But it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him to rejoin the team as a first baseman with both his and Richie Sexson's contract ending.

Go on Griffey, enjoy the attention you deserve.

"Fly, Fly Away!"


Statistics and courtesy of baseball-reference.com, picture and other information courtesy of mlb.com