Spring Break
Baseball wouldn't be crying foul if it were Griffey Jr.
By: Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 7/27/07 Section: Sports
Originally published: 7/28/07 at 12:55 AM EST
Last update: 7/28/07 at 12:54 AM EST
Originally published: 7/28/07 at 12:55 AM EST
Last update: 7/28/07 at 12:54 AM EST
Imagine this. In front of a sold out crowd during a night game in mid-July at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, a walk-off home run is hit on a full count in a tie game. That homerun, No. 756, happened to break the most storied record in sports.
Guess what? The fans cheered. No, I'm not kidding. They shot off fireworks and Bud Selig stood up in his luxury suite and cheered. No, seriously. Not one of the 40,000 plus spectators in attendance questioned this man's integrity, not once. They could only admire what is considered the sweetest swing in major league baseball.
That man could have been Ken Griffey Jr. The key word: could.
On July 18 Griffey Jr. recorded his 2,500th hit, a single off of Braves pitcher John Smoltz. Two days earlier, 'Junior' had just knocked his 587th home run, good for sixth-place on the all-time list.
While those numbers are remarkable (only eighty-four other players have ever collected 2,500 hits), Griffey's career will always be noted as the career that "could have been."
Griffey has missed over 500 games in his career, including missing 260 out of 486 games from 2002-2004 with the Cincinnati Reds, principally due to injury. 500 games amounts to approximately three-and-a-half seasons. The most serious of his ails included the multiple injuries to Griffey's left hamstring and right shoulder.
If not for his unfortunate injuries, it would be Griffey, not Barry Bonds breaking this home run record. Not to mention many of these injuries were due to Griffey going all out, often climbing up walls if not through them to catch the ball.
Griffey is currently hitting .275 with 24 homeruns and 65 runs batted in and is enjoying his best season since 2000 when he clubbed 40 homers for the Reds in 145 games. Griffey's play garnered him a birth at the 2007 All-Star game, his first since 2001.
For the first time in a long time, Junior is giving fans a taste of just how incredible he was during his prime. At the ripe age of 38, Griffey has played in 86 of the Reds 95 games and looks as healthy as he ever has, albeit without the first step he had ten years ago.
Guess what? The fans cheered. No, I'm not kidding. They shot off fireworks and Bud Selig stood up in his luxury suite and cheered. No, seriously. Not one of the 40,000 plus spectators in attendance questioned this man's integrity, not once. They could only admire what is considered the sweetest swing in major league baseball.
That man could have been Ken Griffey Jr. The key word: could.
On July 18 Griffey Jr. recorded his 2,500th hit, a single off of Braves pitcher John Smoltz. Two days earlier, 'Junior' had just knocked his 587th home run, good for sixth-place on the all-time list.
While those numbers are remarkable (only eighty-four other players have ever collected 2,500 hits), Griffey's career will always be noted as the career that "could have been."
Griffey has missed over 500 games in his career, including missing 260 out of 486 games from 2002-2004 with the Cincinnati Reds, principally due to injury. 500 games amounts to approximately three-and-a-half seasons. The most serious of his ails included the multiple injuries to Griffey's left hamstring and right shoulder.
If not for his unfortunate injuries, it would be Griffey, not Barry Bonds breaking this home run record. Not to mention many of these injuries were due to Griffey going all out, often climbing up walls if not through them to catch the ball.
Griffey is currently hitting .275 with 24 homeruns and 65 runs batted in and is enjoying his best season since 2000 when he clubbed 40 homers for the Reds in 145 games. Griffey's play garnered him a birth at the 2007 All-Star game, his first since 2001.
For the first time in a long time, Junior is giving fans a taste of just how incredible he was during his prime. At the ripe age of 38, Griffey has played in 86 of the Reds 95 games and looks as healthy as he ever has, albeit without the first step he had ten years ago.
