MW: Junior Gets No Love

As the brahs are all in their mid to late 20s, Ken Griffey, Jr was one of our favorite players growing up.  The kid was the original phenom of our generation.  There was no shortage of great players in the late 80s and early 90s (Boggs, Mattingly, Gwynn, Strawberry) but Junior was the face of the new generation.  He was the next big thing, and didn’t disappoint.  But, now, as he stands on the brink of 600 HR and immortality, he’s getting no fanfare.  What’s up with that?

Manny Ramirez hit career HR #500 the other day.  And we LOVE Manny- one of the best hitters of our generation (4th highest career average of anyone with 500 HR) and a pleasant demeanor that makes him so likeable.  But people were all over #500 for him.  Guess what- there’s 24 other people in the 500HR club.  Know how many others have 600?  4.  4 other people.  He broke into the league in 1989, and by 1999, he already had 398 HR- an average of just under 40 a year.  But he wasn’t just a power guy- he won 10 gold gloves, had 8 years with at least 15 stolen bases, 8 season’s with at least 100 RBI, and has been a great role model all along.  All this, and he missed the equivalent of 2.5 full seasons due to injury in the last few years.  If you assume he takes a small step backward, but plays those games, all of a sudden you’re talking about a guy who’d be about to break 700 HR, and a guy on his way to the all-time record.  It’s a shame that we live in an era where the controversy surrounding such guys as McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds can make us so numb to numbers that we can’t fully appreciate the magnitude of Griffey’s achievement.  Think about this- only one player in the majors right now is on pace to hit more than 50 HR this year, Chase Utley.  Chase Utley has 117 Hr in his career, and is 30 years old.  In order for him to approach Griffey, he’d have to hit 50 HR every season for the next 9 years.  Keep in mind that the two players with the most consecutive 50 HR seasons ever are Sosa and McGwire with 4, and only Babe Ruth had 4 career season’s with that many aside from the aforementioned two.  There are 5 active players in the 500 HR club (Griffey, ARod, Frank Thomas, Thome, and Manny), and ARod is the only one with a great chance to join Griffey in the 600 club.  Of those in the 400 club that still might have 200 bombs in their belt? Nobody, unless you think Sheffield has another 117 dongs or Delgado’s got another 170.  Prabs.  Albert Pujols has just under 300, and he’s 28.  If he can stay healthy enough to average 40 HR a year, he could get there when he was in his late 30s, so he’s a possibility.  Then there’s the great names that aren’t on the list.  Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Willie McCovey, Ted Williams, and others. 

Alright- enough with the numbers.  We all know Griffey is a raging badass.  It’s just time he gets a little more fanfare for being one of the greatest to ever play the game, and for having the most beautiful swing ever designed.

Tagged as: Jr, Ken Griffey