Seth's 50 Centers

Era comes to end with trade to Chicago White Sox

The trade that sent Ken Griffey Jr. to the Reds between the 1999 and 2000 seasons was a no-brainer when it happened.

Junior’s arrival in Cincinnati was a coronation more than it was a baseball trade, as owner Carl Lindner sent his Rolls Royce to the airport to pick him up.

General Manager Jim Bowden could’ve become injured from all the pats on his back, and those were just the ones he gave himself!

But even before the injuries started to pile up — Junior played most of the 2000 season healthy before missing significant time in ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 and ‘04 — it could be argued having him on the team hurt the Reds.

Money was a very big issue in Cincinnati at the turn of the century, and even mid-level pitchers started leaving for more money than the Reds could give. The team traded Denny Neagle in July of ‘00 when it was only five games out of the division lead!

Giving Barry Larkin a $9 million per year deal for three years made the Reds’ payroll so slanted toward just those two players that it was nearly impossible to build a competitive team!

Then the injuries. Junior got hurt diving for a ball, running around third base and countless other ways. He ripped a hamstring off the bone and was told that if the injury had happened just five years earlier it would’ve ended his career. Luckily a surgery had been perfected and he came back to hit 35 homers in 2005.

The injuries had Reds nation in a tizzy, arguing on talk radio airwaves over whether Junior was lazy, indifferent or whatever. The fact was the fans of Cincinnati were expecting a guy who would challenge for Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs in a Reds uniform, which would’ve meant hitting home runs at the pace he had set while in Seattle.

People were upset and their venom was aimed straight at Junior. It was a tough time to be a supporter of the future hall of famer because you couldn’t deny the fact that you felt cheated by not being able to see him in his prime, which should’ve been the three or four years after he arrived.

Good Junior memories

Now that he’s been traded to the White Sox though, I have a list of memories about Griffey that I’ll carry forever. From the time I started building my prototypical Reds lineup in high school to include Cincy natives Junior and David Justice, I dreamed of seeing the Kid in a hometown uniform.

Here are a few highlights:

The day he was acquired
I had recently started dating my future wife, the CPA, and we had witnessed a magical ‘99 season come up just short of the postseason. The thought was that adding the best player of the 90s would only help things! While the truth ended up being the team couldn’t sign key players (Greg Vaughn left after a 45-homer season for one), the euphoria of the moment didn’t allow those fears to materialize at first.

I was at Ohio State at the time and the CPA and I spent the evening after the announcement with her sister and brother-in-law. I was on top of the world!

Opening day 2000
A chilling rain couldn’t dampen our mood as we watched Junior take his position in center field at Cinergy er…Riverfront Stadium. My grandpa and I watched as the Reds tied, yes tied, the Milwaukee Brewers as rain ended the game.

Junior went 0-for-2 in the game, and despite a slow start — one that reportedly included a plea to someone in the clubhouse to call hall of famer Tony Perez and ask if he would relinquish his retired No. 24 to Griffey. It never happened and Junior went on to hit a team-high 40 homers.

Griffey’s inside the park homer
I was working at 610 WTVN radio in part as a board operator for Reds games in ‘01 when Junior touched them all to beat the Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings on Aug. 20. I was watching on a small TV in the break room and I skipped all the way back to the studio just after he touched home plate.

The lasting image appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer the next day. First baseman Sean Casey and second baseman Pokey Reese were shown hoisting Junior in the air with that smile plastered on his face that made him so likable as a younger player.

HR No. 500
It took a while for Junior to hit the milestone bomb. The week leading up to his Father’s Day homer in St. Louis on June 20, 2004 was a busy one for me, as well. The CPA and I were married June 19. I went to a Reds home game on the 16th in hopes of seeing his 500th. He almost granted my wish with a shot to the wall, but it wasn’t to be.

During our rehearsal dinner I had the waiter giving me constant updates about the game and my friend Matt even had an earpiece in his ear during our reception on our wedding night in case he hit it.

It worked out in the end, though, as during a brunch at the CPA’s parents’ house I wandered in from the back yard just as he strode to the plate. Glued to the TV, I watched as he hit a shot to right field. Only TV announcer George Grande could dampen the event with his call of, “Junior’s not junior anymore, is he?” Yuck! But no, it was a magical moment.

A walk off the last time I saw him in person as a Red
With my family and friends all together for the game on June 30 of this year, Junior came off the bench in the ninth inning with a runner on and the team down a run.

We questioned manager Dusty Baker’s decision not to pinch him in the eighth inning, feeling it was an optimal time. But with a runner on in the ninth, Junior sent all of us home happy with a titanic blast to just right of center field.

Twelve of us were together that night and we all jumped up in unison. I reacted so violently that I ended up with a 10-inch long bruise on the outisde of my left leg from the arm rest of the seat I was in.

To my credit, I didn’t let the injury hamper my celebrating as I hugged and gave fives to everyone around me!

Junior didn’t do what I thought he would with the Reds, as an individual or the team as a whole. I’d much rather be talking about a player still playing at a high level, about to pass Barry Bonds on the alltime home run list.

But the lack of health and therefore more long balls won’t hamper the thrills he did give me and other Reds fans over the years.

I’ll be wearing my Reds hat backwards tonight.

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