My Ode to Junior

With Ken Griffey, Jr. having hit his 499th career home run on Sunday, I have no choice but to remember the Junior I knew. As a thirteen-year-old Yankees fan I was beginning my obsession for the game at the same time that Griffey was at the pinnacle of his career. He was dominant, fan-friendly, and most of all Yankees fans hated him. That wasn’t just caused by his aptitude for breaking the Yankees (or in that case any team’s) back, but a childhood incident when he was asked to leave the field by the Boss George Steinbrenner himself during his father’s tenure with the club. Despite all this, however, I today found myself being as much a supporter of Griffey as one of the players on my favorite club.
My favorite Griffey memory was the first time I witnessed him in person. It was August 29, 1998, the Mariners were in town, and the setting was majestic Yankee Stadium. I remember when he strode to the plate amid vociferous boos, which I joined in of course, and just let out a little laugh. He seemed to be the utter personification of confidence. The Yanks ran out to a big lead in an eventual blowout win. But it was Griffey who I would remember most. Later in the game, when the outcome was already certain, Griffey came up to the plate. Employing his signature stance with his back elbow raised, he launched a pitch into the upper deck in right field. The awe I experienced was not a response to the home run itself, but the graceful swing, and the lightning quick line drive that stopped only when it struck the seats.

When Junior was traded to the Reds, the media response was unbelievable. I bought Baseball Weekly every week, and I remember the trade breakdown, in which it gave a huge story devoted to Griffey, but just an inset discussing Mike Cameron, Brett Tomko, and Antonio Perez. Sports Illustrated ran a story called "How the Reds got Junior," and in everyone’s opinion, it was a total steal to acquire one of the greatest players there was.

Soon, however, came the injury era. After one solid year in Cincinnati, Ken suffered numerous injuries that limited him to 234 games over the next three years. These unfortunate events left us all asking what could have been. During the offseason leading up to this past season, the Reds were shopping him actively. A trade was worked out where he would go to San Diego in exchange for Phil Nevin, but it was shot down when Nevin exercised his no-trade clause. A trade involving Griffey stopped because of…Phil Nevin? What had happened to the Junior we knew? At spring training this year, Junior said he expected to be traded, lucky for Cincinnati he wasn’t.

So far this year, we have seen a glimpse of the Griffey of old. The Reds have seen time atop the standings in the NL Central, with Griffey inspiring a club that has seen great performances from Sean Casey, Adam Dunn, and Paul Wilson. The sweet swing can be seen regularly, and so can the line drives that fall past the fences. After being an active Griffey hater for many years, I have become a supporter. Not necessarily that my opinion has changed, but I missed the Junior I knew. The backwards cap, the left elbow in the air, the superstar. So why don’t we all have some fun this summer, and watch a legend at work.