jcmac3
07-04-2007, 12:30 AM
Not exactly new material, but a nice Article in the Charleston, WV Gazette.
July 02, 2007
In a better world, Griffey has 700
By Doug Smock
Staff writer
BARRY BONDS has hit the 750 mark in career home runs, the second man to do so. He sits five behind Henry Aaron.
Whether you like him (and I don’t, even if you remove the entire steroid issue), it’s time to start paying attention. Hey, the man starts a three-game series Tuesday at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, where no lead or home-run record is safe.
I mean, the Reds’ stable of incendiary arms could easily send Hammerin’ Hank to second place in two games (expect ol’ Barry to sit out the day game Wednesday), assuming the pitchers throw it over the plate.
And I hear you out there — there’s no way Barry ties or breaks the record on the road, right?
Well, yes, it’s an excellent theory. Only the folks in ’Frisco love him, and they do want to see him cream a fastball clear into McCovey Cove for No. 755 and 756, right? But remember this: Much like it’s tough to turn down a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, it’s very hard for a home run hitter not to salivate over Reds pitching.
But that’s not really my point. This is: Had fate, in the form of injuries, been kinder to one Ken Griffey Jr., this three-game set could take on enormous historical significance.
What if both Bonds and Griffey were in the 700 club, at the least? With Griffey hitting his 585th Sunday, you know it could have happened.
Griffey’s last four years in Seattle, he played full seasons, more or less. He belted 209 home runs in 618 games from 1996-99, easily outpacing the 153 homers by Bonds. (Bonds did play just 102 games in 1999.) Add the 2000 season in Cincinnati, and Griffey smacked 249 homers in 753 games in a five-year span.
2000 was about the time Bonds turned up the juice, er, home run pace. He cranked out 49, 73, 46, 45 and 45 homers from 2000 through 2004, a Ruthian total of 258.
But those came in full seasons, with any games missed mostly by design. By 2004, you could pretty much bank on Barry sitting out a day game after a night game.
But Griffey was sitting out a whole bunch of games, against his will. In 2001, it was a torn hamstring. In 2002, he injured the patella tendon in his knee
while changing directions during a rundown. In 2003, he dislocated his shoulder while making a diving catch, and later tore a tendon in his ankle. In 2004, another hamstring tear.
(Pardon me, but what would the odds be on Bonds suffering all those injuries? Just asking.)
All told, Griffey played 492 of a potential 810 games from 2000-04. That ratio shrinks dramatically, from 347 of a possible 648 games from 2001-04. And shoot, he played just 128 games in 2005 and 109 in 2006.
So let’s take Griffey’s pace of once per 2.96 games in his last four years in Seattle and apply it to all the games he missed in Cincinnati, up to 155 played per season, and you get about 120 extra homers.
That would put Junior at 705, which would be just fine by me. Let Bonds break the record and retire, and then we could watch Griffey, who is just 37 currently, chase him down.
A better ballplayer and a better human being, Griffey would be most deserving, don’t you think?
Bonds hasn’t been belting homers so quickly these days, as we know. After Sunday’s game, he has hit all of four over his last 29 games.
If he picks up the pace just a little, here is a juicy possibility: What if he entered a three-game series July 20 on the brink of the record? That little get-together commences at Milwaukee’s Miller Park.
Would commissioner Bud Selig, who has vowed not to see Bonds’ record-breaking dinger in person, boycott in his old backyard? Hmmmm ...
When Bonds finally does break the record, there is hope for it to be broken. Commence rooting for:
Alex Rodriguez, even if he is a Yankee. He has 492, and he’ll turn just 32 this month.
Albert Pujols, who has hit at least 34 every season since his 2001 debut. He has 266, and he is 27.
Ryan Howard, who reached his 100th career homer in just 325 games, fastest ever.
July 02, 2007
In a better world, Griffey has 700
By Doug Smock
Staff writer
BARRY BONDS has hit the 750 mark in career home runs, the second man to do so. He sits five behind Henry Aaron.
Whether you like him (and I don’t, even if you remove the entire steroid issue), it’s time to start paying attention. Hey, the man starts a three-game series Tuesday at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, where no lead or home-run record is safe.
I mean, the Reds’ stable of incendiary arms could easily send Hammerin’ Hank to second place in two games (expect ol’ Barry to sit out the day game Wednesday), assuming the pitchers throw it over the plate.
And I hear you out there — there’s no way Barry ties or breaks the record on the road, right?
Well, yes, it’s an excellent theory. Only the folks in ’Frisco love him, and they do want to see him cream a fastball clear into McCovey Cove for No. 755 and 756, right? But remember this: Much like it’s tough to turn down a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, it’s very hard for a home run hitter not to salivate over Reds pitching.
But that’s not really my point. This is: Had fate, in the form of injuries, been kinder to one Ken Griffey Jr., this three-game set could take on enormous historical significance.
What if both Bonds and Griffey were in the 700 club, at the least? With Griffey hitting his 585th Sunday, you know it could have happened.
Griffey’s last four years in Seattle, he played full seasons, more or less. He belted 209 home runs in 618 games from 1996-99, easily outpacing the 153 homers by Bonds. (Bonds did play just 102 games in 1999.) Add the 2000 season in Cincinnati, and Griffey smacked 249 homers in 753 games in a five-year span.
2000 was about the time Bonds turned up the juice, er, home run pace. He cranked out 49, 73, 46, 45 and 45 homers from 2000 through 2004, a Ruthian total of 258.
But those came in full seasons, with any games missed mostly by design. By 2004, you could pretty much bank on Barry sitting out a day game after a night game.
But Griffey was sitting out a whole bunch of games, against his will. In 2001, it was a torn hamstring. In 2002, he injured the patella tendon in his knee
while changing directions during a rundown. In 2003, he dislocated his shoulder while making a diving catch, and later tore a tendon in his ankle. In 2004, another hamstring tear.
(Pardon me, but what would the odds be on Bonds suffering all those injuries? Just asking.)
All told, Griffey played 492 of a potential 810 games from 2000-04. That ratio shrinks dramatically, from 347 of a possible 648 games from 2001-04. And shoot, he played just 128 games in 2005 and 109 in 2006.
So let’s take Griffey’s pace of once per 2.96 games in his last four years in Seattle and apply it to all the games he missed in Cincinnati, up to 155 played per season, and you get about 120 extra homers.
That would put Junior at 705, which would be just fine by me. Let Bonds break the record and retire, and then we could watch Griffey, who is just 37 currently, chase him down.
A better ballplayer and a better human being, Griffey would be most deserving, don’t you think?
Bonds hasn’t been belting homers so quickly these days, as we know. After Sunday’s game, he has hit all of four over his last 29 games.
If he picks up the pace just a little, here is a juicy possibility: What if he entered a three-game series July 20 on the brink of the record? That little get-together commences at Milwaukee’s Miller Park.
Would commissioner Bud Selig, who has vowed not to see Bonds’ record-breaking dinger in person, boycott in his old backyard? Hmmmm ...
When Bonds finally does break the record, there is hope for it to be broken. Commence rooting for:
Alex Rodriguez, even if he is a Yankee. He has 492, and he’ll turn just 32 this month.
Albert Pujols, who has hit at least 34 every season since his 2001 debut. He has 266, and he is 27.
Ryan Howard, who reached his 100th career homer in just 325 games, fastest ever.