#600 MAKES JUNIOR THE BEST OF THIS ERA
I was lucky enough to be making dinner at my place when I popped on the TV just in time to see Junior crank #600 in front of about 300 fans in Miami. But, watching Griffey round the bases and celebrate his milestone was almost bittersweet. Ten years ago, the 600 Home Run Club was considered a foregone conclusion for Griffey. Hell, at the pace he was one, anything less than 700 would be a surprise. However, after an injury-plagued start to his career in Cincinnati, it was unknown whether Griff would even stay healthy enough to get to 500. On Monday night, I was half happy for him, half aching for what could’ve been.
Growing up in the early 90’s, there was no question that Ken Griffey Jr. was the most popular player in baseball. This was before the faux Roger Maris Chase of ’98, before Barry Bonds met Gregg Anderson, before the game that we all loved was sullied by bloated heads and butt acne. Even growing up in baseball-crazy Connecticut where many support die-hard allegiances to the Mets, Yankees or Red Sox, the hero for my fellow Little Leaguers was Griffey. He had his sneakers, video games, Simpsons and Fresh Prince of Bel Air cameos, movie appearances, and even his own chocolate bar. His 1989 Upper Deck rookie card, which at the time was worth an incomprehensible $125, was THE status symbol for any kid not yet old enough to drive. In sports in the 90’s there was Michael Jordan, Ken Griffey Jr., and everyone else was far distant third.
Junior's rookie card was more sought-after amongst kids in the 90's than Kelly Kapowski
Even before we knew what we know now about steroids, Griffey was still the best hitter in baseball when he was traded to Cincinnati after the 1999 season. The Reds, one win away from a playoff berth in that season (lost to Al Leiter and the Mets in a one-game playoff for the Wild Card), were believed to be an instant World Series contender after the deal. After hitting 40 homers in 145 games and leading the Reds to 85 wins in the 2000 season, it’s been downhill for Junior and the Reds. Griffey hasn’t cracked 35 homers and the Reds haven’t had a winning record since.
Putting Griffey’s numbers in perspective
Griffey turned 31 years old after the 2000 season. At that point in his career, he had hit 438 career home runs. Griffey played in just 317 games over the next four seasons (almost two full seasons worth of games) and hit just 63 home runs during that frame – an average of about 16 per season. Since 2000, he has only had two seasons of 30 or more home runs (2005, 2007). Griffey hit his 400th homer when he was 30 – Sammy Sosa hit #400 when he was 32, Barry Bonds didn’t reach that mark until he was 34. Bonds played until he was 43. From the ages of 31 through 41, Bonds hit a total of 431 homers (an average of 43 per season). Like I said before, Griffey had 438 home runs before his 31st birthday. If between the ages of 31 and 41, he hit the same amount of home runs as Barry Bonds, Griffey would’ve eclipsed 800 home runs before his 42nd birthday. He would’ve ended the 2010 season with a mind-boggling 831 career home runs.
But, forget about Bonds for a second. Let’s say that after 2000, Junior played 10 more seasons at full health (until he was 41). Here are his projected numbers after the 2010 season:
At 30 home runs per season: 738
At 35 home runs per season: 788
At 40 home runs per season: 838 (!!!!!)
Griffey's projected numbers would've made Hank Aaron an afterthought
Where Griffey stands
Junior is an unbelievable talent who was arguably the most dominant baseball player of the 1990s. Besides his beautiful home run swing, Griffey's legacy is one of the only careers from this era which will not be called into question. You could argue that Junior is only the fourth member of the "pure" 600 Home Run club (along with Ruth, Mays, Aaron). Sammy Sosa would’ve never gotten to 600 without the help of performance enhancing drugs and a corked bat. Barry Bonds certainly could’ve hit the 600 mark on his own, but he tarnished his career totals by getting an illegal boost. Griffey never needed any help. When he was hurt, he didn’t inject himself with HGH like Andy Pettite, he stayed hurt. When he was slumping, he didn’t ask Gary Sheffield to borrow some cream, he worked his way out of it. His biceps never tore out of his shirt, his head never inexplicably grew six sizes, and he didn’t have any Andro or flaxseed oils in his locker. Griffey did it the right way.
Baseball is primarily a numbers game, so perhaps Griffey will be lost in the shuffle when looking back 50 years from now. But, when talking about the greatest baseball players in history from a pure talent standpoint, you have to put Ken Griffey Jr. in the conversation.
Though he didn’t get the same headlines as some of the other sluggers of his generation, Griffey was the best of the bunch. Knowing what we know now, I would take Junior’s career over Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, or Barry Bonds any day of the week.
Junior was the lone bright spot from an otherwise dark and murky era in America’s favorite pastime.
SHOOTING THE REST OF THE SPORTS WORLD:
Swish: Michael Strahan
You had the feeling that old gap-tooth was going to call it quits after finally getting that elusive ring. The NFL's single-season sacks leader (22 1/2 in 2001) has a laundry list of accomplishments that could make him worthy of first ballot Hall of Fame status:
7-time Pro Bowler, 6-time All-Pro, NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2001), 2-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year (2001, 2003), 141 1/2 career sacks (5th all-time), Giants' career sack leader (technically LT's 9 1/2 from his rookie year don't count), one of only four players to lead the NFL in sacks in two seasons (Gastineau, White, Greene), eight seasons of 9 sacks or more.
When ranking the best pass-rushers in NFL history, I think you can make an argument for Strahan to be included in the top five. He's certainly behind (in no particular order) Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, and Bruce Smith, but I'd throw him in the mix with Deacon Jones and Chris Doleman without hesitation. The Giants will miss Stray's leadership and relentless effort, but with Pro Bowler Osi Umenyiora, a budding superstar and certified Quarterback assassin in Justin Tuck, veteran Renaldo Wynn, and the versatile Mathias Kiwanuka, the defending champs should be in pretty good shape at defensive end.
Sunday's just won't be the same without seeing #92 roaming the opponent's backfield
Brick: Dontrelle Willis
Willis couldn't get out of the 2nd inning on Monday night, getting lit up for eight earned runs on five walks in three hits in the Tigers 8-2 loss to Cleveland. On Tuesday, Willis was immediately sent down to Class A Lakeland. In four starts this season, the 26-year old has surrendered 12 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings. What's most baffling about Willis has been his lack of command. He has walked 21 of the 60 batters he has faced this season leading to a Rosie O'Donnell-like 2.47 (!) WHIP. After his trade from Florida, Detroit signed Willis to a 3-year extension worth $29 million...that may end up being a deal that they regret.
Willis' WHIP this season has equalled Rosie's weight
Air Ball: Big Brown (and his trainer Rick Dutrow)
I guess you can say Big Brown made history during last Saturday's Belmont Stakes. The nearly 1 to 3 favorite became once of the biggest sports flops of the past 25 years with his last place finish in the final leg of the Triple Crown. The worst part about Big Brown's clunker was the fact that there seemed to be nothing wrong with him. No pulled muscle, no problems from the cracked hoof, a premiere jockey - there were no excuses, Big Brown just flat out sucked. It's now a 30 year drought since horse racing's last Triple Crown winner (Affirmed) and Big Brown joins horses like Smarty Jones and War Emblem as horses that fell short at Belmont. Considering that bettors would have to drop about $30,000 just to win $10K back, I'm assuming a lot of people lost a lot of money last weekend.
The Shots Fantasy Update:
Fantasy NASCAR, holding steady in 7th - a little over 200 points out of first place
Remember what I said last week about Tony Stewart? I had been saving him all year and finally I started him and he crashes out and finishes 40th. Well, guess who I had starting for only the 2nd time all year in my B Group? I’ll give you one guess: he’s a complete d*ck and his car is sponsored by a hand-held candy…. Of course, I started Kyle Busch this week, a week in which he finishes dead last and scores a whopping six points. Outside of Busch, I actually had a pretty decent week, as both Carl Edwards and Mark Martin scored top-ten finishes and AJ Allmendinger continued by C Group success with a 68-point week. Saving your drivers for the end of a season is a good strategy, but holding guys out like Busch when they are winning, and then starting them on weeks where they crash makes me want to smash my laptop.
Kyle Busch ruined my fantasy week, and made me want to ruin this mid-90's computer
Robinson Cano & Co. II def. Lonewolf, 6-3-1 – tied for 5th place
A four-save week from Matt Capps and quality starts from John Danks, Jose Contreras, and the newly-acquired Mike Mussina helped me sweep the SV, WHIP, and ERA categories last week. Despite having just a .252 batting average, my team hit 9 homers and drove in a season-high 33 runs, winning both of those stat groups easily. That effort was mostly spearheaded by Alex Rodriguez (.458, 2 HR, 8 RBI).
Chuckie Three Stick-Up, 300 points out of last place
There isn’t really any reason to update you on my status, considering I’m never going to climb out of 2nd to last place. That being said, I think this is the first week that I ever picked the winner as Justin Leonard (60 pts) took home the St. Jude Crown. I’m not sure where I would be at if I had actually known how to set my lineup the first three weeks of the season, but it would probably be somewhere in the top three.
The Shots Blast from the Past:
“Swish: Ken Griffey, Jr.
Twenty years from now when people ask me who I think the best baseball player of my generation was I won’t say Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire or even Greg Maddux or Roger Clemens - It’s Ken Griffey, Jr. Having a stellar year for a dismal Reds squad, Griffey passed Harmon Killebrew into 7th place on the all-time home runs list with #574 last week. Junior probably has the sweetest swing in baseball history and without all the injuries in his early 30s, he would’ve shattered a lot of records. Also, there’s no doubt that he did it the right way. And by right way I mean he didn’t do any of the “stuff” Jason Giambi did.”
That ties a nice bow on what I said above.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Boston at LA Lakers - Thursday
Game 3 was ugly but I'm sure the Lakers will take it. Despite playing poorly, Boston has to feel good about themselves. Considering that 2/3 of the Big Three didn't show up (KG/Pierce combined 8-35 shooting), it's encouraging for the Celtics that they were only a couple of plays away from a 3-0 series lead. The reason why I hate the 2-3-2 format in the Finals is because if the team with homecourt wins the first two games, all they have to do is take one of the next three. You force the other team to win THREE straight games, and that’s a major disadvantage (think of the handful of teams that have comeback from 3-1 deficits…). I thought entering the series that the Lakers were a better team, but maybe this is just a bad matchup for them. Boston’s physical defense through the first three games (especially on Odom and Gasol) has really kept LA’s finesse offense in check.
U.S. Open - Thursday
The 108th U.S. Open takes place at Torrey Pines… Tiger Woods will tee off with Phil Mickleson and Adam Scott, a rare threesome of the top three players in golf. After undergoing knee surgery, Thursday will be Tiger’s first competitive round since Sunday’s final round of the Masters two months ago. He is listed as a 5-2 favorite.
Philadelphia at St. Louis – Friday, Saturday, Sunday
You were probably expecting me to put in some Interleague games in the What to Watch right? Have you seen the craptacular weekend lineup? Washington vs. Seattle, Detroit vs. LA Dodgers, San Diego vs. Cleveland, Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore, and Texas vs. NY Mets…yuck. No, the best matchup of the weekend is the lone non-Interleague series pitting the newly-minted first place Phillies and the NL Central contending St. Louis Cardinals. Philly has one of the NL’s best offenses (3rd runs, 2nd HRs, 3rd RBI) while the Redbirds starting rotation has been one of the biggest surprises of the year. Entering Tuesday, the Cards starters are 32-17 and their top four (Wainwright, Lohse, Wellemeyer, Looper) all have six wins or more.
College Baseball World Series- Saturday and Sunday
This is one of the more underrated sporting events of the year, and the only sound that I enjoy as much as the roar of an Indy Car is the ping of an aluminum bat in Omaha. There are some big-time programs still alive in Florida State, Miami, Rice and North Carolina. The actual final isn’t until June 23-25.
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Sports related -
It’s funny how Pierce originally grabs for his knee at :12, then his shin at :16, back to his knee at :23, back to his shin at :28, and finally his thigh at :55. It’s like when you tried to fool your parents into thinking you were sick so you could miss school. When they’d ask me what was wrong, I’d always come up with three different symptoms: my head hurts, my body aches, or I’m having trouble sleeping. It’s like Pierce was feeling up and down his leg, trying to fake everybody out with a non-descript injury. Once he realized he wasn’t actually hurt, he probably thought “Oh, screw it, I’m tough guy (and alleged gang-banger) so I have to at least go back into the Locker Room to sell this.” Comparing Pierce to Willis Reed, or even to Michael Jordan's flu-performance in the 1998 NBA Finals is A) absolutely laughable, B) disrespectful, and C) historically inaccurate. Reed overcame a torn thigh muscle, Jordan overcame a 103-degree fever, Pierce tweaked his knee and put on a performance that would make Bill Laimbeer blush. I honestly believe that at first Pierce thought he was seriously hurt. But the crying and wheelchair were way over the top and completely unecessary, especially because he must've realized he was OK after a few minutes. Pierce is a very good player, and one of the best to don a Celtics uniform. However, during the NBA Finals thus far, I have heard people call him as heroic as Willis Reed, and say his offensive game is better than Larry Bird's. Both of those statements couldn't be more false.
Ferris Bueller may have helped Paul Pierce fake his injury
Non-sports related -
Classic Jim Carrey - before he got all serious and stuff.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Juilie Bowen
Look familiar? You may remember her from
this (Gilmore Alegre) or
this.
She got hotter.
See you next week.
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