Griffey’s wait for 600 homers is over

The Reds slugger ended a long wait in the first inning and became the sixth player in history to reach the milestone.

From News Services

Last update: June 10, 2008 - 7:27 AM

MIAMI – Cincinnati outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th home run on Monday night, completing his long ascent and becoming the sixth player in history to reach that milestone.

Griffey homered off Florida lefty Mark Hendrickson in the first inning of the Reds’ 9-4 victory over the Marlins. The ball landed 413 feet away in the seats in right field. Griffey joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa.

"I don’t think I touched any of the bases. I sort of floated around," Griffey said.

Manager Dusty Baker has managed the last three players to achieve the milestone: Bonds in San Francisco, Sosa in Chicago and now Griffey. He was there for Bonds’ 600th, on Aug. 9, 2002.

"It’s awesome every time you see a milestone like that," Baker said. "It doesn’t take away from the others. It adds to it."

The game was the last one of an eight-game road trip for the Reds, who will return home tonight to play St. Louis.

Griffey, 38, hasn’t enjoyed many golden moments since the Reds got him from Seattle in 2000. This will rank as one of his best with Cincinnati.

One of baseball’s most prolific sluggers before injuries began to take their toll, he began the season with 593 homers. It took 216 at-bats to make history — his previous homer came May 31.

But Griffey wasn’t frustrated by the wait between homers. After all, he never even expected to make it to 200 home runs.

"My dad hit 152 home runs, and that’s who I wanted to be like," he said, moments after calling himself "a line-drive hitter that carries the ball a little bit."

Unlike Bonds and Sosa, Griffey has stayed clear of questions about whether he came by all of his homers legitimately. His name has never come up in baseball’s steroids scandal.

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