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Griffey's Place in History
Trevor Kelsey
93.9 The Ticket Reporter
Ken Griffey Jr was never asked to go to Congress. He was never named in any book or report. But this week he has done something only 5 other men in baseball have done...hit his 600th home run. A skinny kid with his hat turn backwards came into the majors in 1989, just 19yrs old and the number one pick out of High School to the Seattle Mariners. He came with visions of greatness in his future and he never disappointed. Griffey would homer in his first ever career at bat in Seattle, 16 as a rookie, and would be an ALL-Star by his second season. In 1993 he tied a major league record with 8 straight games with a home run, as well as being the first American league batter since Babe Ruth to hit 50 or more home runs in back to back seasons ( 1997&1998). In 2000 he was traded to his hometown Cincinnati Reds. Then Reds general manager JIm Bowden referred to Griffey as the "Michael Jordan of baseball". He would hit 40 HR and 118 RBI in his first season with the Reds. But an assortment of injuries over the next several seasons have slowed down the locomotive paced career of this still soon to be Hall of Famer. He may not be the same highlight reel in center, scaling walls and robbing base hits. Health reasons may have been the reason his 600th |
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