Ken Griffey Jr. joins the elite 600 club

[Monkeydad]

I've been a big fan of Griffey Jr. since he started with the M's in '89. He was always an exciting player to watch with his incredible speed, fielding abilities, his cannon of an arm and of course his power from that smooth swing of his. He has one of the best looking swings I've ever seen.

Adding in that he's always been a great guy on and off the field is a big bonus too.

I only wish he had stayed healthy. We'd be celebrating his 800th home run and Barry Bonds would not be on top of the HR list. But, even with the injuries he had to battle and overcame, 600 home runs is still a giant accomplishment.


OK, here's the stats nerd in me. Don't say I didn't warn you.

In his full/healthy seasons (played 140+ games), he averaged 39.55 HRs. There were only 11 of those seasons of out his 20 in the majors. If he could have played in those seasons, not even 162 games but just 140+, he would have had 752 HRs coming into this season. He'd he knocking on the door of 760 right now. He hit 30 last season, so about this time next year, he'd be near 800. Sad to think about, but he's still one of the best players of all time and he did it cleanly and with a smile.

He's been healthy for the last 2 seasons, so I expect we'll see him for 2-3 more years. Maybe if he returns to Seattle as a DH, he can play even longer. There were rumors about a month ago about a trade back to the Mariners, but it was just that, a rumor with no real truth to it.





I'm glad I own him on a fantasy team too. He hit my team's only homer last night.