By now, Ken Griffey Jr.’s historic 600th home run is old news. The storied and always hobbled centerfielder was going to nail the milestone sometime this season. It was obvious. But how can local and national media types actually discount the achievement when Griffey seemingly never took steroids or any other performance enhancer.
It’s preposterous to question Griffey’s credibility. Roger Clemens, yes. Griffey, no. The man with the most-pure swing since Darryl Strawberry donned a Mets uniform has had his share of injuries. Well, more than his share. As oft-injured as Griffey was, it’s hard to fathom that he is at 600.
In the eight seasons prior to 2008, Griffey missed 453 games because of a plethora of injuries. He’s missed almost three full seasons, but he still performed when he was healthy. He isn’t Andy Pettite, who used HGH as a catalyst to a speedy recovery. If he was, we would be talking about him passing Barry Bonds, another cheater, rather than watching him hit 600.
But what makes Griffey so great is his loyalty. He could’ve gone anywhere after his contract in Seattle expired. Anywhere, even New York, where the Yankees played in as many World Series as his home run count. But he didn’t want that. He opted for Cincinnati, the place where his father left an undying legacy. And Griffey Jr. has been to the playoffs just twice.
If Griffey stayed healthy, this blog would be arguing that he was the best power hitter in baseball history. Alex Rodriguez is and it will go down on record when he is all finished. So, here’s the comparison, even with Grif’s injuries: A-Rod, who has stayed out of the steroid controversy barring schlep Jose Canseco’s accusation, homers every 14.23 at-bats. Griffey goes yard every 15.075.
The comparison is close, considering that Griffey has close to two thousand more plate appearances. But we will never know who was actually better, which pounds home the statement: Leave Griffey alone. He’s one of the good-guys in baseball.
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