Junior in a Class of his Own

Ken Griffey Jr. became the sixth player to hit 600 home runs last night, hitting a first inning home run off Mark Hendrickson into the right field seats to join a legendary club. The lack of hype surrounding this major achievement is startling, especially considering Griffey was the game's preeminent player in the 90's. That was before the steroid explosion propelled McGwire, Sosa and Bonds to the forefront and sent Griffey to the back pages while he was battling chronic injury problems. During the nine-day wait, there was hardly any conversation of the exclusive club Junior was about to join. Now that he's finally reached the milestone, it's worth mentioning that the Kid has put up his amazing stats with no observable evidence that he used performance-enhancing drugs. With Sammy Sosa (609 home runs) and Barry Bonds (762) under suspicion for their dabbling with HGH and/or steroids, Junior becomes one of only four men to reach 600 without aid and first since Hank Aaron did it 37 years ago. The Reds centerfielder hasn't exactly aged with grace, but that is what makes him great. It's human nature to deteriorate as you head toward the twilight of your career, not explode like Bonds did. In his prime, Griffey was unbelieveable in all facets of the game and his streak of four straight years of 48 home runs or more from 1996-99 was the gold standard for this era before sluggers became extraordinarily large. Since his debut in 1989, Griffey has captivated us with his phenomenal catches in center and his effortless, majestic swing. The ten straight Gold Gloves in the 90's and three Home Run Derby championships prove just that. While in Seattle, he turned the Emerald City into a baseball-crazed town with his charisma and pure enjoyment of the game. The Kingdome was Griffey's house and the Mariners became a legitimate franchise thanks to their superstar. No player made the game seem so easy for as long Griffey did during his prime and fans everywhere loved him for it. Even when injuries caused him to miss more than half of the games from 2002-04, Junior still persevered and has insured that his legacy of greatness will live on. In celebration of Griffey, here are the milestone home runs of his career. 1st home run: April 10, 1989 off Eric King (White Sox) 100th home run: June 15, 1993 off Billy Brewer (Royals) 200th home run: May 21, 1996 off Vaughn Eshelman (Red Sox) 300th home run: April 13, 1998 off Jose Mesa (Indians) 400th home run: April 10, 2000 off Rolando Arrojo (Rockies) 500th home run: June 20, 2004 off Matt Morris (Cardinals) 587th home run: July 16, 2007 off Oscar Villareal (Braves) 600th home run: June 9, 2008 off Mark Hendrickson (Marlins)