Ken Griffey Jr.

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RiSK (talk | contribs) at 08:38, 10 June 2008 ("600 home run club" is just a redirect. All other 600+ HR players have only the 500 on their page as well.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ken Griffey, Jr.
Cincinnati Reds – No. 3
Right fielder
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
debut
April 3, 1989, for the Seattle Mariners
Career statistics
(through June 9, 2008)
Hits2,615
Doubles486
Batting average.289
Home runs600
Runs batted in1,730
Teams
Career highlights and awards

George Kenneth "Ken" Griffey, Jr. (born November 21 1969, in Donora, Pennsylvania) is a Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds. He is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, currently #6 on the list of most career home runs, and is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run.[1] His nicknames have been "The Natural", "The Kid", and "Junior". He is the son of former big league outfielder Ken Griffey, Sr. His swing has been described as "one of the most beautiful and effortless,"[2] as well as "perfect" and "majestic".[3]

Youth and early career

Ken Griffey, Jr. shares not only the same birthday, but also the same birthplace, as Hall of Famer Stan Musial in the town of Donora, Pennsylvania.[4] His family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where father Ken Griffey, Sr. played for the Cincinnati Reds, when Junior was five. He attended Archbishop Moeller High School.

In 1987, Griffey was selected with the first overall pick of that year's amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners based on his tremendous potential. One scout said of Griffey, "If you thought Barry Bonds was interesting, wait until you see this kid." In January of 1988, Griffey attempted suicide by swallowing 277 aspirin. He ended up in the intensive care unit at Providence Hospital in Mount Airy, Ohio.[5] Griffey was overwhelmed by racial slurs directed at him as well as a tenuous relationship with his father. He rebounded the next year as a big leaguer in top contention for the A.L. Rookie of the Year award, but was thwarted when he slipped in the shower and broke a bone in his right hand in late July, 1989. Griffey finished 3rd in voting, and the award went to Baltimore reliever Gregg Olson instead.

In his eleven seasons with Seattle (spanning from 1989 to 1999) Griffey established himself as one of the most prolific and exciting players of the era, racking up 1,752 hits, 398 home runs, 1,152 RBIs and 167 stolen bases. He led the American League in home runs four seasons (1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999), was voted the A.L. MVP in 1997, and maintained a .297 batting average.

Additionally, his defense in center field was widely considered among the elites during the decade. Thanks to his impressive range, Griffey frequently made spectacular diving plays, and he often dazzled fans by making over-the-shoulder basket catches (a la Willie Mays' "the Catch" in the 1954 World Series) and by robbing opposing hitters of home runs at the wall—leaping up and pulling them back into the field of play. He was featured on the Wheaties cereal box and also had his own signature sneaker line from Nike, Inc.

One of Ken Griffey Jr. signature sneakers, the Nike Air Griffey Max.

Griffey was a frequent participant in the All-Star Game during the 1990s. Junior has led his league multiple times in hitting categories and was awarded Gold Gloves for his defensive excellence from 1990 to 1999. Griffey also became one of a very small number to have played on the same team as his father, Ken Griffey, Sr. in 1990 and 1991. At the MLB Home Run Derby in 1993, which was held at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Griffey slugged a ball over the right field wall, hitting the warehouse. Griffey is the first player[6] to have ever hit the warehouse on a fly, and is honored with a plaque.[7] In 1997, he won the American League Most Valuable Player award, hitting .304, with 56 home runs and 147 runs batted in.

Perhaps the single most memorable moment of Griffey's career with the Mariners came during the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS) against the New York Yankees. After losing the first two games, the Mariners and Griffey were on the verge of elimination, but came back to win the next two games, setting up a decisive fifth game. In the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 5, with Griffey on first base, teammate Edgar Martínez hit a double. Griffey raced around the bases, slid into home with the winning run, and popped up into the waiting arms of the entire team. Although the Mariners subsequently lost the ALCS to former Mariners manager Mike Hargrove's Indians, that moment remains one of the most memorable in Mariners history, capping a season that "saved baseball in Seattle",[8][9] as it occurred in the midst of speculation that the franchise would relocate to another city.

As the Mariners were playing to sellout crowds in the Kingdome, the voters of Washington state's King County narrowly defeated a ballot proposal to build a new baseball stadium. Following the success of the team that season and the narrowness of the vote, the then-governor of Washington, Mike Lowry, called a special session of the Washington State Legislature where a new stadium authority was created and a new tax on hotels and rental cars were added to support the baseball stadium. Today this facility is known as Safeco Field and is referred to as "The House That Griffey Built".[10][11] This game five final play of the ALDS was the inspiration for the title of the video game, Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run for the Super Nintendo. in this game he had all his stats at 100%.

In 1999, he ranked 93rd on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. This list was compiled during the 1998 season, counting only statistics through 1997. It was argued by some that, had the voting been done two or three years later, he would have been ranked several places higher: at age 29 (going on 30), he was easily the youngest player on the list. That same year, Griffey was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. However, when TSN updated their list for a new book in 2005, despite having surpassed 400 and 500 home runs, Griffey remained at Number 93.

While playing with Seattle, Griffey was a 10-time American League Gold Glove winner, the 1992 All-Star Game MVP, 1997 AL MVP, 1998 ESPY co-winner for Male Athlete of the Year, and was named to the All-Century team in 1999.

File:Griffey artwork.jpg
Ken Griffey Jr. painted on a wall in downtown Seattle, 1994. The tick marks indicate how many home runs he had hit up to that point.

Departure from Seattle

Griffey used to live in the same neighborhood in Orlando as golfer Payne Stewart. After the tragic death of Payne Stewart in a plane crash on October 25, 1999, Griffey started expressing a desire to live with his father in his hometown of Cincinnati. The primary reason for wanting out of Seattle was his desire to play closer to his home in Orlando where his family resided. Moving to Cincinnati allowed him to be only a short flight from his family.

After the 1999 season, Griffey's request was granted and he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Cameron, Brett Tomko, Antonio Pérez, and Jake Meyer. Initially, the future looked extremely bright for him in Cincinnati, where the Reds had just come within one game of a playoff berth. It was the city in which he had grown up, and Griffey was reportedly very pleased to be playing on his father's former team —on the open market, Griffey could have made several million dollars more than the contract offered by the small-market Reds. However, his contract apparently includes backloaded payments which will be paid until 2024.[12]

Ken Griffey Jr. was a fan favorite in Seattle since he was a 19 year old rookie,[13] and was the featured star of the Mariners throughout his tenure. In June 2007, the near-capacity crowd welcomed him back in a Reds' uniform for a three-game series in Seattle. Griffey hit two home runs in the last game of the series. In a TV interview broadcast on the local FSN affiliate following the series finale, Griffey emotionally expressed an interest in returning to the Seattle ballclub in the future should circumstances warrant it.[14]

Tenure in Cincinnati

2000-2004

The 2000 season began what has generally been seen by the media as a decline in Griffey's superstar status. Although his statistics during this season were respectable, they were far below his previous level of play: in 145 games, Griffey hit .271 with 40 home runs, but his .942 on-base plus slugging was his lowest mark in five years. Griffey wore his father's #30, not #24 like he did in Seattle. The number 24 was already retired in honor of Tony Perez and it was not brought out of retirement for Griffey. Additionally, from 2001 through 2004, Griffey was plagued by a string of injuries, including season-ending injuries in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Worse yet for Griffey, the cumulative effects of the injuries lowered his bat speed, resulting in less power and fewer home runs (he slugged only .426 before succumbing to injury in 2002, his lowest output in seven years). Injuries forced Griffey to miss 260 out of 486 games from 2002 through 2004, diminishing both his skills and his star reputation. Consequently, he is not nearly the ubiquitous presence he once was on cereal boxes, television commercials, and the All-Star Game.

In 2004, Griffey avoided major injury during the first half of the season, and on June 20 became the 20th player to hit 500 career home runs. His 500th home run came on Father's Day in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, with his father in the stands; the homer also tied Ken Jr. with his father in career hits with 2,143. However, the injury bug bit again just before the All-Star break, he suffered a partial hamstring tear, knocking him out of the All-Star Game and putting him on the disabled list yet again.

Griffey finished the 2004 season on the disabled list after suffering a rupture of his right hamstring in San Francisco.[15] The play in question occurred at AT&T Park in a game against the San Francisco Giants. Griffey was starting in right field for the first time in his 16-year Major League career when he raced toward the gap to try to cut off a ball before it got to the wall. He slid as he got to the ball, but in the process hyper extended his right leg, tearing the hamstring completely off the bone. He later came out of the game, complaining of "tightness" in the hamstring exacerbated by chilly conditions in San Francisco. But there was far more to it than anyone realized at the time.

Shortly after this injury, the Reds' team physician, Timothy Kremchek, devised an experimental surgery dubbed "The Junior Operation"[16] that would use three titanium screws to reattach Griffey's hamstring. For several weeks, Griffey's right leg was in a sling that kept it at a 90-degree angle, and he was not able to move the leg until late October. After an intense rehabilitation period, he returned for the 2005 season. In April, he hit .244 with one homer (on April 30) and nine RBIs.[17]

2005-2006 seasons

Starting May 1, the 2005 season saw the resurgence of a healthy Griffey. The fluid swing, which depends heavily on excellent lower body strength, returned to its original form, now that Griffey's hamstring and calf problems appear behind him. His 35 home runs were his highest since his first year with the Reds as Griffey slowly moved up the career home run list. He ended the season tied with Mickey Mantle, after having passed Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, and Eddie Murray.

Early in September, he strained a tendon in his left foot (an injury unrelated to his past hamstring and calf problems), and was listed as day-to-day for several weeks. On September 22, with the Reds out of playoff contention, the team decided to bench him for the rest of the season so he could immediately have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and a separate operation to repair scars from his 2004 hamstring operation. Still, his 128 games in 2005 were the most he has played since 2000. Griffey's resurgence was recognized when he was named National League Comeback Player of the Year. He played in the World Baseball Classic for the American team that off-season with his father as a coach. Griffey batted .524, but the USA failed to reach the semifinals.

During the second game of the 2006 regular season, Griffey hit home run #537, surpassing Mickey Mantle for 12th on the all-time list. He returned on May 11 from a knee injury suffered April 12, and hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Washington Nationals. On June 5, Griffey tied Fred McGriff's record by hitting a home run in his 43rd different ballpark, at the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium. On June 19, Griffey hit career home run 548, tying him with Mike Schmidt, and then six days later passed Schmidt with 549. On June 27, he hit his 550th career home run against the Kansas City Royals.

On September 25 2006, Griffey hit his 27th home run of the season off of Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Scott Eyre to tie Reggie Jackson for tenth on the all time home run list.

Griffey's injuries continued in the 2006 off-season. While on holiday in the Bahamas with his family, he broke his wrist. He said he was wrestling with his daughter and two younger sons when the oldest jumped in and knocked him off balance; he landed awkwardly on his left hand. Griffey said his hand felt fine and he expected to be ready to go for 2007 spring training.[18]

2007 season

At the beginning of the 2007 Major League Baseball Season, Ryan Freel took over center field for the Reds, and Griffey Jr. was moved to right field. Narron said that "I've got to do everything I can do to put our best club out there. My feeling is that with Ryan Freel out there, it gives us strong defense up the middle."[19]

In April 2007, Griffey was diagnosed with pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining of the cavity surrounding the lungs which can cause painful respiration and other symptoms.

On May 10 2006, Griffey hit his sixth home run of the season and the 569th of his career, tying Rafael Palmeiro for ninth place on the career home runs list. He passed Palmeiro on May 13. Griffey tied Harmon Killebrew for eighth on the all-time list hitting his 573rd career home run on May 22. He then surpassed him on May 25.

On June 22 2006, Griffey made his first return to Seattle after his trade to the Reds. Before the game, the Mariners honored him with a 15-minute presentation which included a highlight reel of his playing career with the Mariners, a presentation of a "The House that Griffey Built" memorial by Mariners hall-of-famers Jay Buhner and Edgar Martínez, and a 4 minute standing ovation from the sold out crowd. A speech was given by Griffey, and many of the fans in attendance made signs professing their gratitude and adoration toward him with quotes such as: "The House that Griffey Built", "Seattle [hearts] Junior", and "Griffey we miss you." Griffey went 1-5 in the game. On June 24, Griffey hit his 583rd and 584th career home runs, tying and passing Mark McGwire for 7th place on the all-time career home run list.

On June 24, 2007, in an interview on FSN Northwest with Angie Mentink, Griffey stated that he would like to end his career as a Seattle Mariner and that he feels that he owes it to the fans of Seattle:

Would I do it? Yeah. I think for the simple reason that this is the place where I grew up and I owe it to the people of Seattle and to myself to retire as a Mariner.

Following the Cincinnati Reds versus Seattle Mariners series of 2007, a fan movement emerged petitioning Mariners' management to bring Griffey back. Over 1,900 signatures were collected on a fan vid-blog/petition.[20]

Griffey received the most votes of any player in the National League for the 2007 All-Star balloting and on the July 10 game, he went on to drive in two runs for the National League.

On July 16 2007, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 587th home run to pass Frank Robinson for 6th place on the all-time home run list. On July 18, 2007, Griffey hit his 2,500th hit, a first inning single off Atlanta Braves starting pitcher John Smoltz.

On September 19 2007, in a game against the Chicago Cubs, Griffey fielded a Derrek Lee single in right field, then suddenly went down in pain. He was on the ground for several minutes, but eventually walked off under his own power. The injury, first thought to be a lower abdominal strain, was later revealed to be a season-ending groin strain. This marked one of many seasons in Cincinnati in which Griffey had to end the year on the disabled list. Griffey ended the 2007 season with 593 career home runs.

On August 22 2007, Griffey was selected as an all-time Gold Glove winner, on a list of nine players are considered the greatest defensive players in the last fifty years.[21] He finished the season with 78 runs, 146 hits, 24 doubles, one triple, 30 home runs, 93 RBIs, and a .277 batting average.

2008 season

On April 4th, 2008, Ken Griffey Jr. passed Reggie Jackson for 16th on the all-time list after driving in his 1,702nd RBI.[22] Two days later, in an 8-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Griffey hit his 594th career home run and his first of the 2008 season. The two-run homer pushed him closer to becoming the sixth player in history to reach 600-home runs.[23] On April 9, in the 12-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, Griffey batted 2 for 4 with 3 runs and an RBI. On April 15, in the 9-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Griffey hit his 595th career home run, batting 1 for 4 on the game with the solo hit being the two-run homer. Two days later on April 17, Griffey hit his 596th career home run while batting 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs in a 9-2 victory by the Cincinnati Reds over the Chicago Cubs. In the April 20 matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, Griffey batted 1 for 5 with the walk-off RBI in the bottom of the 10th inning for the 4-3 victory. Griffey's walk-off hit came after Edwin Encarnacion's and Joey Votto's back-to-back home runs. On May 31st, 2008 Griffey hit the 599th home run of his career against the Atlanta Braves, needing only 1 more home run to become only the sixth member of the legendary 600 home run club. He reached the plateau on June 9, 2008, hitting his 600th home run off of Mark Hendrickson of the Florida Marlins in the first inning of their game.[24]

Career stats

Yr   Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  SB  CS   BB    K  AVG  OBP  SLG   TB  SH  SF IBB HBP GIDP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989 19 SEA AL 127  455   61  120  23   0  16   61  16   7   44   83 .264 .329 .420  191   1   4   8   2    4
1990 20 SEA AL 155  597   91  179  28   7  22   80  16  11   63   81 .300 .366 .481  287   0   4  12   2   12
1991 21 SEA AL 154  548   76  179  42   1  22  100  18   6   71   82 .327 .399 .527  289   4   9  21   1   10
1992 22 SEA AL 142  565   83  174  39   4  27  103  10   5   44   67 .308 .361 .535  302   0   3  15   5   15
1993 23 SEA AL 156  582  113  180  38   3  45  109  17   9   96   91 .309 .408 .617  359   0   7  25   6   14
1994 24 SEA AL 111  433   94  140  24   4  40   90  11   3   56   73 .323 .402 .674  292   0   2  19   2    9
1995 25 SEA AL  72  260   52   67   7   0  17   42   4   2   52   53 .258 .379 .481  125   0   2   6   0    4
1996 26 SEA AL 140  545  125  165  26   2  49  140  16   1   78  104 .303 .392 .628  342   1   7  13   7    7
1997 27 SEA AL 157  608  125  185  34   3  56  147  15   4   76  121 .304 .382 .646  393   0  12  23   8   12
1998 28 SEA AL 161  633  120  180  33   3  56  146  20   5   76  121 .284 .365 .611  387   0   4  11   7   14
1999 29 SEA AL 160  606  123  173  26   3  48  134  24   7   91  108 .285 .384 .576  349   0   2  17   7    8
2000 30 CIN NL 145  520  100  141  22   3  40  118   6   4   94  117 .271 .387 .556  289   0   8  17   9    7
2001 31 CIN NL 111  364   57  104  20   2  22   65   2   0   44   72 .286 .365 .533  194   1   4   6   4    8
2002 32 CIN NL  70  197   17   52   8   0   8   23   1   2   28   39 .264 .358 .426   84   0   4   6   3    6
2003 33 CIN NL  53  166   34   41  12   1  13   26   1   0   27   44 .247 .370 .566   94   1   1   5   6    3
2004 34 CIN NL  83  300   49   76  18   0  20   60   1   0   44   67 .253 .351 .513  154   0   2   3   2    8
2005 35 CIN NL 128  491   85  148  30   0  35   92  10   1   54   93 .301 .369 .576  283   0   7   3   3    9
2006 36 CIN NL 109  428   62  108  19   0  27   72   0   0   39   78 .252 .316 .486  208   0   3   6   2   13
2007 37 CIN NL 144  528   78  146  24   1  30   93   6   1   85   88 .277 .372 .496  262   0   9  14   1   14
2008 38 CIN NL  61  219   30   57  13   0   7   29   0   1   37   35 .260 .365 .416   91   0   3  12   1    5 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS        2439 9045 1575 2615 483 37  600 1730 184  69 1199 1628 .289 .374 .550 4975   8  97 242  78  182
20 Seasons

Stats are as of June 9, 2008.

Griffey in popular culture

Griffey has starred in four Nintendo videogames: 1994's Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball and 1996's Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Nintendo 64 games Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1998, and Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest in 1999. He has also appeared on the Game Boy in 1997 (a portable version of his 1994 game, with authentic rosters as they were on Opening Day 1997) and 1999's Slugfest, a portable version of the Nintendo 64 game.

In 1996, Nike promoted a "Ken Griffey Jr. for President" ad campaign, releasing "Griffey in '96" buttons and a TV commercial featuring Penny Hardaway. Of course, Griffey could not take office as he was only 27 at the time; the Constitution requires President to be at least 35. Thus the first election cycle which would be Constitutionally permissible would be the 2008 election.

Griffey also had a memorable guest turn on The Simpsons, in episode 52, during the third season, "Homer at the Bat", along with fellow stars José Canseco, Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Don Mattingly, Roger Clemens, Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, and Mike Scioscia. In the episode, Griffey overdoses on a nerve tonic prescribed to him by Mr Burns, causing him to suffer from gigantism.

Griffey also has had a candy bar name after him called the Ken Griffey Jr. Bar. Unfortunately, he is allergic to chocolate so their manufacture soon ceased.

Griffey was mentioned in an episode of "Scrubs". A paramedic, played by Molly Shannon, said she bought her son Griffey's card, and he carried it with him wherever he went.

Griffey also had an appearance in "Love Hurts", an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, in which he insults Will Smith at a local carnival. In 1994, he was featured in the major motion picture Little Big League, directed by Andrew Scheinman. In the 2001 baseball movie, Summer Catch, Griffey makes a brief cameo appearance at the very end of the movie, showcasing him hitting a home run at the now defunct Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

Griffey has appeared in some games in the Backyard Baseball series.

Griffey is a paintball fan and can often be found playing with his wife and children at paintball facilities around Orlando, Florida, his off-season home. At the 2007 PSP World Cup, Planet Eclipse presented Griffey with his own "Private Label" 2008 Ego paintball marker. [25]

Griffey was the first player to ask Bud Selig to wear the number 42 in celebration of Jackie Robinson Day. After its approval from the league commissioner, Selig encouraged players across the league to do the same in a temporary suspension of the number being retired to honor the great Jackie Robinson on Jackie Robinson day celebrated throughout the major league.

Griffey's 1989 Upper Deck Rookie card, numbered 1, was selected as the first ever* printed MLB baseball card for an official set by Upper Deck.

  • Promotional cards of Wally Joyner and DeWayne Buice were printed by the company, prior to the release of the official set. The Buice promo card is also numbered 1 on the reverse, but the hologram is rectangular, rather than the diamond shape.

Ken Griffey Jr's 1989 Upper Deck rookie card was mentioned on the Sci-fi television show Eureka in the episode titled Games people play as Sheriff Jack Carters prized baseball card from his former baseball card collection. The sheriff's ex-wife disposed of the collection.

Philanthropy

In 2008, Griffey released a series of charity wines to support The Ken Griffey, Jr. Family Foundation, a fund that supports several causes, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and several children's hospitals across the United States. [26]

Personal

Griffey and his wife Melissa have three children: George Kenneth III ("Trey"), daughter Taryn Kennedy, and adopted son Tevin Kendall. When Trey was born, Mariners' then-G.M. Woody Woodward sent him a player's contract dated 2012. Griffey switched his uniform number in 2006, from 30 to 3, to honor his three kids.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ken Griffey, Jr..

References

  1. ^ Consecutive Home Run Records by Baseball Almanac
  2. ^ "Griffey Breaks Bone in Hand- Mariners star will be out 3 to 4 Weeks", SeattlePI.com 20 June, 1996.
  3. ^ "Why Lefties Just Look Better Swinging a Bat", The Washington Post 27 October, 1999.
  4. ^ Donora, Pennsylvania PA, borough profile (Washington County) - hotels, festivals, genealogy, newspapers - ePodunk
  5. ^ "Griffey Jr. Recalls Attempted Suicide", New York Times
  6. ^ "Now Fielder Is Where He Knows He Belongs", The New York Times July 13, 1993
  7. ^ The Official Site of the Baltimore Orioles
  8. ^ "Martinez is beloved by Seattle fans; what about Hall voters?" ESPN.com September 25, 2004
  9. ^ "Legendary broadcaster reflects on 40 years of baseball", National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum" Hall of Fame News May 24, 2008.
  10. ^ Verhovek, S.H. "Seattle Journal; No Joy: Mighty Griffey Has Cut Out", The New York Times November 5, 1999
  11. ^ Bell, G. "Griffey: 'I didn't know how much I missed being in Seattle.'", USAToday.com
  12. ^ Griffey contract stuns baseball
  13. ^ Shipnuck, A. "Junior Comes Of Age", Sports Illustrated August 08, 1994.
  14. ^ Sports | This wasn't goodbye — Griffey will be back | Seattle Times Newspaper
  15. ^ Kinney, T. "Griffey Jr. nabbed by injury again", USAToday.com August 14, 2004.
  16. ^ Castrovince A. "Griffey nominated for Comeback Award", MLB.com August 22, 2005.
  17. ^ The Official Site of The Cincinnati Reds: News: Cincinnati Reds News
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ Off center: Griffey moving to right field - Baseball - MSNBC.com
  20. ^ [2]
  21. ^ Rawlings to Present First-Ever Junior Rawlings Gold Glove Award
  22. ^ ESPN - Phillies vs. Reds - Recap - April 04, 2008
  23. ^ ESPN - Phillies vs. Reds - Recap - April 06, 2008
  24. ^ [3]
  25. ^ [4][5][6]
  26. ^ [7] [8] [9]

External links

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