Congrats to George Kenneth Griffey Jr.

Junior moved past Frank Robinson and into sole possession of 6th place of the all-time home runs list last night with his 24 homer of the season and 587th of his career. Also, since Sammy Sosa recently hit his 600th, Junior is only 15 away from claiming his spot in the top 5. Oh what might have been...

His Mariners teams were a close second to the Buccos in my mind. I wore my aquamarine Mariners hat everywhere (aquamarine on top with a dark brim and the compass logo. I can't find a picture. Reverse of this). And this one looked exactly like my t-ball hats.

I get mad thinking about Griffey's tenure in Cincinnati. Without the injuries year after year, us baseball fans could have been witnessing something truly remarkable. Barry Bonds and Junior Griffey could have been fighting each other for the home run crown right now. Wouldn't that be something to see.

Griffey was always one of my favorite players when I was a kid. I'd open every pack of baseball cards just hoping that Junior would be in there.

Plus, he was born in Donora, Pa, which is only about 20 minutes or so from my house. Weird thing is, Junior was born on the very same day as Donora's other famous baseball-playing resident, Stan Musial. I'd always use that as a fun fact when I was growing up.

So a slow clap goes to Griffey, as he makes his way towards 600. If it wasn't for the knees and ankles and achilles and whatever else he blew out in Cincy, we could be watching a replay of the '98 home run assault. However, instead of McGwire and Sosa charging for the season record, we would've had Bonds and Griffey going after the all-time record.

Damn you again, Cincinnati...