The magic number
And whilst we're on the subject of Junior, Jayson Stark examines how the public perception of him has shifted once again now that he's about to break the magical 500-homer barrier.
When he gets there (probably sometime over the weekend) he'll be in some pretty rarified company. Even if the injuries of the last few seasons mean that he no longer has a shot at Hank Aaron's 755 home runs, he's within fairly easy striking distance of some of baseball greatest-ever sluggers: Ted Williams (521), Mickey Mantle (536), Mike Schmidt (548), Reggie Jackson (563). Who knows? If he stays healthy, he might have a shot at Willie Mays (660), but whatever happens, he'll be ranked alongside some of the all-time greats.
Stark's article also points out that it's not just about the home runs, either:
This guy has more home runs than Lou Gehrig? Driven in more runs than Johnny Bench? Has a higher career slugging percentage than Hank Aaron? Produced more extra-base hits than Joe DiMaggio?
All true. No wonder those people in Cincinnati are asking themselves what the heck they've been booing.
[...]
In the end, it turns out, all people ever really wanted was the chance to see that Junior Griffey they used to root for -- the human highlight film with the golden smile -- materialize again before their eyes.
And now, voila. That guy is back, on one of the surprise teams of the year, with a mythical milestone as the lure to make us all pay attention to his every move.
"It's amazing," [Cincinnati teammate Danny] Graves said. "The guy went through so much for so long, you almost forgot what he used to do. And now he's doing it again."
For that gift, we can all be thankful. And we can also thank that magic number -- 500 -- for reminding us of what Junior Griffey once meant to this game, and what he has come to mean again. Finally.
When he gets there (probably sometime over the weekend) he'll be in some pretty rarified company. Even if the injuries of the last few seasons mean that he no longer has a shot at Hank Aaron's 755 home runs, he's within fairly easy striking distance of some of baseball greatest-ever sluggers: Ted Williams (521), Mickey Mantle (536), Mike Schmidt (548), Reggie Jackson (563). Who knows? If he stays healthy, he might have a shot at Willie Mays (660), but whatever happens, he'll be ranked alongside some of the all-time greats.
Stark's article also points out that it's not just about the home runs, either:
This guy has more home runs than Lou Gehrig? Driven in more runs than Johnny Bench? Has a higher career slugging percentage than Hank Aaron? Produced more extra-base hits than Joe DiMaggio?
All true. No wonder those people in Cincinnati are asking themselves what the heck they've been booing.
[...]
In the end, it turns out, all people ever really wanted was the chance to see that Junior Griffey they used to root for -- the human highlight film with the golden smile -- materialize again before their eyes.
And now, voila. That guy is back, on one of the surprise teams of the year, with a mythical milestone as the lure to make us all pay attention to his every move.
"It's amazing," [Cincinnati teammate Danny] Graves said. "The guy went through so much for so long, you almost forgot what he used to do. And now he's doing it again."
For that gift, we can all be thankful. And we can also thank that magic number -- 500 -- for reminding us of what Junior Griffey once meant to this game, and what he has come to mean again. Finally.
posted by Iain at
16:32
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