Griffey Hits His 600th

Congrats to Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey hit his 600th career home run earlier tonight.

I've told you before that Junior was one of my favorite players growing up, so I just wanted show my appreciation for all that Griffey has accomplished in his years in the MLB. The past few years have not been kind to The Kid, but 600 homers really defines a career. Injuries or not, Griffey was one of the most fun players to watch. And that swing...

Drinks are on the Donora boy tonight.

Nate McLouth Rules

Aren't the Penguins playing tonight? Then why the Pirates post?

Despite my love for the Penguins (especially during playoff time), I gotta show love for what Nate McLouth is doing in this young season.

In last night's 9-1 win over the Reds, on what was hardly a clear black night, Nate Dogg regulated the game (sorry) with two runs, two walks and a hit, pushing his career-long hit streak to 12 games.

Also, his 22 hits on the season accounts for nearly 1/4 of the team hit total. He's also batting .400, good for tops on the team and 32 points above Chris Gomez, who sits in second on the squad with a .368 average. This doesn't take into account P Franquelis Osoria's .500 average in 2 plate appearances. Looks like Franquelis needs more ABs.

Honestly, I didn't expect this outta Nate. I'd like to find someone who did (whoops, turns out a lot of people did). Still, I was hoping Nyjer Morgan would have been the go-to-guy in CF after the show he put on after his call-up late last season. Now, this doesn't mean Morgan won't eventually replace Nate.

I mean, McLouth still has about 44 games to go to make some real noise.

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...