Junior turns 600

"Ya know, it's funny what a young man recollects, cuz I don't remember bein' born. I don't recall what I got for my first Christmas, and I don't know when I went on my first outdoor picnic..."

But I do remember the first time I saw the sweetest swing in baseball.

I could not let the week pass without making special mention of a ballplayer every baseball fan over the age of 25 remembers as the best all-around player of the 90s. I'm no Mariners fan. I'm damn-sure no Reds fan. But the ultimate sign of respect for an athlete is when your loyalty as a fan to a team has no bearing on the joy you have watching that player or the admiration for his/her ability.

Ken Griffey Jr. came into the league as the son of Ken Griffey Sr. He was a fresh-faced kid that was hyped up because of his pedigree, and even played on the same team as his old man. For his first few years in the league, he was best known among the collective youth of America as the #1 card in the '89 Upper Deck series.

When he finally retires, most that saw the best of him will remember Ken Griffey Sr. as the father of Ken Griffey Jr. They will remember him as the fresh-faced kid that lived up to the hype. His rookie card? A footnote in pop culture history.

Some fans, uninterested in accurate historical reflection, may remember him as the injury-plagued outfielder for the Reds that, at times, refused to run out a play. They will hardly remember him as the dangerous hitter that gave most AL pitchers (and hitters with his fielding) nightmares. And that's a shame.

The unfortunate chapter of the Ken Griffey Jr. story is that his career started to tail off around the same time that players like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds started rewriting the home run record books. During that time, he became an afterthought, a "what if?". Much of that had to do with the fact that he was injured most of the time. The rest can be laid at the feet of men who disgraced the game with their lust for home-run glory. While we fans did not really know it at the time, these men simply shamed themselves and the game we loved.

And it is out of the shadows of the those cheaters that Ken Griffey Jr. steps forward once more, seemingly unblemished by what turned out to be a dark chapter in baseball history, not his own. Whether that is fair or justified is unknown. Unlike those players, we feel rather confident that Junior did not break the law for a competitive advantage. For that, however, I offer nothing. No extra credit. No additional respect or admiration. He may have done it the right way, but that's what he should have done. And his accomplishments speak loudly enough that he simply does not need any more love for having done his job within the bounds of the rules and the law.

As he hits a milestone reached legitimately by just 3 players before him, we reflect on his great career, and we forget the "what if?"s. It's a time to stand up, applaud, and offer this simple reflection on a continuing great career:

600