Reds' Griffey slams his 600th career HR
MIAMI — Ken Griffey Jr. insisted he never dreamed of joining baseball's ultimate group of power hitters when he reached the majors 19 years ago.
"My father hit 152 home runs, and that's who I wanted to be like," said Griffey, who hit his 600th career homer Monday night to join Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the only players to do so.
Griffey connected off Mark Hendrickson in the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds' 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins. The 38-year-old slugger hit a 3-1 pitch 413 feet into the right-field seats with Jerry Hairston on third and one out.
"I was just trying to get a pitch I could hit and be as patient as possible," Griffey said. "And I was fortunate enough to get a curveball I could drive."
Griffey started the season with 593 home runs despite numerous injuries in recent years — enough to make a lot of people wonder how many homers he could have had if he had stayed relatively healthy.
"We saw 400 the other day with (Atlanta's Chipper Jones) and 600 today," Marlins left fielder Luis Gonzalez said. "It's not the side you want to be on."
