Jr has become the 6th member of the 600 HR club. The others include Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa. Pretty elite company. Jr. is a big reason I love baseball. He has been my favorite player since back in his prime in Seattle. As great as this accomplishment is for him its also bittersweet because of the injuries he has had to deal with since moving to Cincy. I think most would agree that he would be chasing down Bonds right now if it weren't for that. But its a testament to his greatness that even with those injuries he has put up the numbers he has. One interesting fact is he is one of only two players who has hit 50 HRs and won a gold glove in the same season, the other being Willie Mays. This is also a guy you don't hear in connection with steroids. I know that evey player that has played in this era is automatically going to have some skepticism follow his name around. But Jr is one you don't assume has partaken, even with his connection to Bonds (who allegedly told him he was hitting the juice). So congrats Jr. You will go down as one of the greatest players to ever play the game. And you will always be one of my favorite sports figures ever, right up there with Marino.
Tim Kurkjian said this which sums up greatly for me. "Six hundred home runs is a tremendous milestone, but Griffey at 100, 200, 300 and 400 was simply breathtaking. " Was there a more fun baseball player to watch in the 90's? I say no.
Griffey deserves special kudos for getting to 600 without allegations of steroid abuse, unlike his recent contemporaries. If it weren't for the injuries, he'd be chasing Aaron right now.
always one of my favorite players, and a great ambassador for the game. Griffey is one of a kind. Congratulations to jr. Hoping I'll be able to watch him play for a little bit longer.
Congrats to Griffey, it's shame that injuries costed him a shot at breaking Aaron's HR record. It's also a shame he hit #600 in front of only 16 thousand people and not in his home ball park, reminds me of when Gwynn got his 3000th hit in Montreal. Anyway Griffey was one of my favorites growing up in the 90s (which I'm sure he was to every baseball fan around that time). Glad to see him finally do it. Hopefully he has a few more HRs in his bat before he retires.
I always thought Ken Griffey Jr was a class act, he was also a guy born to play baseball, there were no allegations of steroid use, there were no wife assaults or firearms charges with "Junior". He is what, 38 now? Bonds played until 44, so who knows, his move to Right Field has rejuvenated his career, and he still has the sweetest swing since Will Clark or Tony Gwynn. For me, when he does hang them up, he should go into the Hall of Fame before Bonds and Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa, he did things the right way and that should count for something, even in this cynical time.
I came across this article a while ago and saved it. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/070222&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2
"When he came to camp in 1989, he had no chance to make the team," Bradley said. "But he got a lot of at-bats early that spring because a lot of veterans don't like to play a lot early. After 20 games, he wasn't just the best player on our team, he was the best player in the league that spring. The Mariners basically said, 'We don't want this to happen, we don't want to rush him, we don't want him to make the team.' So they started running him out there against every elite pitcher, against all the nastiest left-handers they could find in hopes that he would stop hitting, and they could send him out. It never happened." He made the club as a 19-year-old, the youngest player on an Opening Day roster that season. In his first at-bat at the Seattle Kingdome, he hit a home run on the first pitch he saw from the White Sox's Eric King. Griffey went on to hit 16 home runs that season -- in baseball history, only Tony Conigliaro and Mel Ott hit more homers as teenagers. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=3377636
what a crappy place to do it though. I would have grounded out on purpose and waited for a home game, instead of hitting in front of a crowd of like 20 people.
Congrats to KG Jr. One of my favorite players for sure, would be at 700 right now if his career wasn't derailed by injuries.
Congrats Griffey! i always loved Griffey. Im sure everyone here who played backyard baseball tried to imitate his swing. I know i did
He was always my favorite player growing up, after he went to Cincy though he kinda fell off due to his injuries, but id still say he is probably my favorite player of all time
I don't mind bonds but to me Griffey's 600 milestone is more impressive than Bond's 767 or whatever. griffey has the best swing the MLB has ever seen, and as mentioned above, not being even questioned by anyone in the steriods scandal, makes it even more impressive. Way to go Ken.
