It's funny.  We think of Griffey's career as ruined by injuries.  Here is where he was at age 29, as he was about to leave Seattle. As you can see, he was at about the same place as Vladdy and Frank Robinson.  Griffey was a centerfielder, of course, but really was not known for his defensive prowess despite the GGs. 

So, now that the home run record talk is gone (and doesn't really matter anyways because Alex Rodriguez is probably going to hit 850 in his career), you are left with a great player who did not turn out to be exceptionally durable, but who did not simply collapse in his early 30s as some have done. Is "ordinary greatness" an oxymoron?

Elsewhere, Mariano Rivera gave up a ninth-inning game winning homer. On an 0-2 pitch, yet.

Two bad ninth innings for Mo in the same series against the Royal Mystique this weekend. Soria nailed down the save for KC - maybe the torch is being passed?

Cheers to Griffey.

Cheers to Griffey.

I'll be the nth person to agree with that. Anyone who was six years old in 1993, or still plays this at age 21, doesn't need to be convinced that Junior is a worthy Hall of Famer.

Man, I'm with you Rob.

Griffey's game for the N64 was *infuriating* though.  I remember actually ripping it out of the console and throwing it accross the room where it smashed into the wall and broke.  Then I couldn't return it to Blockbuster...

Congrats to Ken...he and Frank were my favorites as a kid in the early 90's...

Griffey was a centerfielder, of course, but really was not known for his defensive prowess despite the GGs. 

Mike I think you've said this before too? What do you base this on?

Being on the westcoast and seeing a ton of Griffey's games when he was a youngster this is not my memory. He covered half the Kingdome outfield and the top of the fences. He ran like the wind until he started to fill out and wear down.

I'm very happy for Junior, though sadly it seems like the majority of baseball media and fans care more about Manny's 500 and Bonds' illegitimate milestones than this one. Why does Bonds get the every-AB-is-shown-live-no-matter-what treatment while Griffey is mentioned in passing. Even Chipper's 400th got a lot of coverage. Anyway, much props to one of the 10-15 greatest hitters ever to play the game.

Bonds get the every-AB-is-shown-live-no-matter-what treatment while Griffey is mentioned in passing...

Because Bonds was on the verge of breaking a record, while Griffey was just reaching an arbitrary milestone?

Being on the westcoast and seeing a ton of Griffey's games when he was a youngster this is not my memory.

You should remember the guy who replaced Griffey in centre, then. Griffey was indeed a fine centre fielder when he was in his prime, but he was never in the same class as the best ones around, and Mike Cameron is one of the best ones we've seen in the last twenty-five years..

Thats right, Cameron was not just the guy who replaced him in center, but was the key return in the deal, the only other noteable was pitcher Brett Tomko.

I'd say Devon White may have been a more fleet center fielder as well, how about Willie Mays? But then I wasn't saying Griffey was the best alltime defensive center fielder. I was however wondering how it could be asserted that: Griffey was a centerfielder, of course, but really was not known for his defensive prowess despite the GGs. 

He won 10 gold gloves by the way. I'm aware that sometmes the best players don't always win the gold glove they deserve, but that is a lot of respect.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/reds/2008-05-05-griffey_N.htm

The above link is well worth the read and reveals a curiously guarded allegation leading to Griffey's move to Cinci.

King Ryan, Bonds' other milestones were milked for every at-bat also. I remember his 600th HR getting the same treatment. Especially now that we know what we know about Bonds, you'd think the baseball world would appreciate guys like Griffey and Thomas a little more.

the obvious reason S P is that Bonds was first. If there was more separation than maybe Griffey would get more attention. etc. etc.

Thought I'd share this cool note from Dan Heisman on the SABR mailing list:

What do Torii Hunter, Richie Sexson, Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, and Ken
Griffey, Jr. have in common?

Answer: As of the morning of June 10, 2008, they are the one and only
players during the 2008 season to have reached the milestones of 200, 300,
400, 500, and 600 HR!

He goes on to say that it's probably never happened before (note he said "one and only" so if more than one player hit 200 HR, that year wouldn't count) and without looking it up, I'd have to agree.