Arguably the greatest player of his generation, Ken Griffey Jr. all but single-handedly saved baseball in Seattle with his monstrous home runs and breathtaking centerfield defense. Yet after shattering virtually all of the franchise's offensive records before he reached the age of 30, Griffey broke the hearts of Pacific Northwest fans by forcing a trade to his hometown Cincinnati Reds.

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As with all the greatest athletes, from Babe Ruth to Jim Brown to Michael Jordan, statistics provided only the barest glimpse of Griffey's dazzling array of talents. No number of Gold Gloves could do justice to the sight of him racing back to scale the outfield wall and snag a baseball that had seemed destined for the bleachers. Neither could his plethora of home run titles convey the grace and ferocity of perhaps the smoothest left-handed power swing baseball had ever seen.

The son of former Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Sr., Junior spent much of his childhood in the Reds' locker room during the heyday of the Big Red Machine, the great Cincinnati clubs that would capture back-to-back World Championships in the mid-1970s. The team camaraderie and dedication to winning above all else served as formative experiences for the child who would one day say "My teammates are more important to me than myself" and who would spend much of his own career trying to recreate the atmosphere he had found in his father's world.

Junior's precocious talents, meanwhile, allowed him and his dad to become the first father/son duo to play in the major leagues concurrently, the first to start in the same lineup and the first to hit home runs in the same game. But his athletic pedigree came at a price. Growing up as the son of a pro baseball player, Griffey acutely felt his father's extended absences, and a desire to spend more time with his own family would spur his decision to leave the Mariners after the 1999 season.

In 1987, Griffey was a two-sport star at Cincinnati's Moeller High School (the alma mater of future teammate Barry Larkin). Just two years later, at the tender age of 19, he would open the season in center field for the Mariners. Seattle had made Griffey the first pick overall in the June 1987 draft, and after only a year and a half in the minor leagues -- including a mere 17 games at the Double-A level -- Griffey made the club's Opening Day roster with a torrid spring performance in 1989. A non-roster player at the start of spring training, Griffey batted .359 during the exhibition season, driving in 21 runs in 26 games.

When the regular season began, Junior quickly proved that his presence in the lineup was more than a publicity stunt. He doubled in his first at-bat and homered on the first pitch he saw at Seattle's Kingdome. When he tied a team record later in April by recording hits in eight straight at-bats, the rush was on to anoint him as the next Willie Mays. Although a broken finger in his right hand slowed what might have been a Rookie of the Year campaign, the youngest player in the major leagues finished his initial season with a .264 batting average, 16 home runs, 61 RBIs and 16 steals. More importantly, "the Kid" gave long-suffering Mariners' fans a reason to come to the stadium and a brighter future to look forward to.

The next three years saw Junior steadily develop his power numbers while beginning a string of All-Star appearances and Gold Glove awards that would span the 1990s. Griffey would bat as high as .327, launch as many as 27 home runs and collect as many as 103 RBIs for a series of mediocre to atrocious Mariners' teams. He also carried the burden of being the first baseball superstar in a city that had little or no baseball tradition. When Griffey won the MVP award of the 1992 All-Star Game by rapping three hits and taking Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux deep, he became the first Mariner ever to hit a home run in All-Star competition.

With his clean-cut looks and omnipresent smile, not to mention an abundance of "five-tool" talent and a penchant for photogenically robbing opposing batters of base hits, Junior quickly became the golden boy of baseball, one of the game's most popular figures and the unchallenged flag-bearer for the Mariners' franchise. Yet Griffey, unfailingly humble and reserved in public, never sought the attention he received and resisted reporters who pressed him to discuss his achievements. "I grew up like that," he said. "My dad never brought the game home. So I was taught you don't have to talk about yourself; other people will do it."

Far less publicized than his on-field heroics, however, was his tireless commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which granted wishes to terminally ill children. By some accounts, Griffey devoted more time to the Foundation than any other professional athlete.

In 1993, the budding prodigy took his game to a new level and began clouting round trippers with frightening regularity. At the All-Star game that year, the 23-year-old slugger showed off his newfound power during the Home Run Derby. Although he would lose the home run contest to Texas's Juan Gonzalez (who topped him 46-45 for the AL home run crown that year), he became the first player to hit a ball on the fly off the B&O Warehouse beyond the right field wall at Baltimore's Camden Yards -- a drive estimated at 460 feet.

Fresh off his achievements at the All-Star game, Junior began a historic longball binge shortly after the midseason break. From July 20th through July 28th he homered in eight consecutive games, tying the major-league record set by Dale Long in 1956 and equaled by Don Mattingly in 1987. He just missed setting a new record when he doubled off the right-center field wall the next day. At season's end he had set numerous team records -- most of which have since been surpassed either by Griffey himself or by shortstop Alex Rodriguez -- while batting .309 with 109 RBIs and 17 steals.

From then on, Griffey's career became increasingly defined by power numbers -- despite his continued insistence that "the home run thing is not important to me." Still, when the players' strike halted the 1994 season in mid-August, he had belted an AL-high 40 round trippers in just 111 games. The dazzling offensive display raised the question of whether Griffey could top Roger Maris' single season home run record of 61.

Any chance Junior had to pursue the record the following season ended on May 26th, when he broke two bones in his left wrist while making a spectacular catch of a drive by Baltimore's Kevin Bass. He missed 73 games, but the Mariners managed to tread water until his mid-August return, and over the final six weeks of the season pulled off one of baseball's most remarkable comebacks. Seattle made up a thirteen-game deficit to Anaheim, swiping the pennant from the Angels by winning a one-game playoff at the Kingdome. It was the first post-season berth and division title in franchise history.

Although the injury led to some very un-Griffey-like regular season numbers (72 games, 17 home runs, 42 RBI, and a .258 batting average), he more than made up for it with a spectacular post-season. He dominated the Mariners' heart-stopping five-game Divisional Series triumph over the Yankees, belting five home runs (tying a post-season series record) scoring nine runs and driving home seven. He even scored the winning run in the eleventh inning of the classic Game Five by racing home from first base on Edgar Martinez's double into the left-field corner. By adding a home run in the Mariners' five-game loss to Cleveland in the ALCS, he tied another record (jointly held by Bob Robertson in 1971 and Lenny Dykstra in 1993) for most total home runs in a post-season.

While the Mariners slipped back to the pack in 1996, Junior began an astonishing four-year run in which he clouted 209 round-trippers and racked up 567 RBIs. Despite missing 20 games with a broken bone in his right hand, Griffey set short-lived Mariners records with 49 home runs and 140 RBIs while batting .303 and scoring 125 runs.

But even that stellar performance was merely a prelude to his magnificent 1997 campaign, one which saw the 27-year-old superstar win just the ninth unanimous MVP in American League history. Leading the Mariners to their second division title in three years, Griffey posted gaudy numbers: 56 home runs (a total topped only by Roger Maris, Babe Ruth, Hank Greenberg and Jimmie Foxx in league history), 147 RBIs, 393 total bases and a .646 slugging percentage. For good measure, Griffey chipped in 15 steals and his eighth consecutive Gold Glove. His stature as the best player in baseball stood virtually uncontested.

After a disappointing four-game loss to Baltimore in that year's Division Series in which Griffey managed just two singles in 15 at-bats, Junior would never again find life in Seattle so idyllic. Overshadowed by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's historic home run chase in the National League, Griffey nearly duplicated his 1997 stats in 1998, collecting 56 of the quietest home runs and 146 of the most unheralded RBIs in baseball history. The pivotal event of the season may have been the team's decision to trade ace left-hander Randy Johnson to Houston just before the trading deadline. To Griffey, the trade was evidence that the Mariners were unwilling to spend the money needed to make the team a contender.

At around $8.5 million a year, Seattle's brightest star was a major bargain, and as the Mariners endured a two-year stretch of mediocrity in 1998 and 1999 speculation grew that Griffey might sign elsewhere when his four-year deal expired after the 2000 season. Fueling the rumors was Griffey's decision to move his family from the Seattle area to a private community in Orlando, forcing him to spend most of the baseball season apart from his wife Melissa, son Trey and daughter Taryn.

With a strategy of stockpiling promising young talent (bolstered by the fast emergence of pitchers John Halama and Freddy Garcia, two of the three prospects acquired in the Johnson deal) the Mariners looked towards the future -- beginning with the mid-summer opening of Safeco Field, a brand-new natural grass stadium with a retractable roof. Before the new park opened, Griffey put his stamp on the last game at the Kingdome by belting the final home run in the stadium and later robbing Rangers' outfielder Juan Gonzalez of a homer with a spectacular leaping catch.

The Mariners hoped that Safeco Field would help entice Griffey to stay, but the new stadium -- sometimes referred to as "The House that Griffey Built," since a referendum to build the stadium had passed during the euphoria of the club's 1995 playoff run -- may have hastened Griffey's departure. For all its aesthetic offenses, the Kingdome had served as a launching pad for the offensive fireworks which had helped Griffey reach 350 career home runs at a younger age than anyone than anyone in history. Safeco, on the other hand, was clearly a pitchers' park where well-hit fly balls died on the warning track in the damp Pacific air.

Whatever the reason, it was obvious that Junior wanted to be elsewhere. After reaching the All-Star break with a .310 batting average, he hit just .255 the rest of the way. Even his league-leading 48 round-trippers seemed perfunctory. Griffey remained mostly silent on his plans for the future, but showed little interest in signing a multi-year extension with the Mariners that would have made him the highest-paid player in the game. All along he insisted that his hesitancy had less to do with money than with his desire to play for a championship team, as his father had. "I'm not getting any younger," he said. "The one thing you can't buy in this game is that ring."

The Mariners, meanwhile, found themselves at a critical juncture in their franchise's history. In Griffey and superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez, Seattle owned perhaps the two most sought-after players in the game, both of whom could become free agents after the 2000 season. Re-signing both to long-term contracts would cost in excess of $250 million, but losing one or both to free agency would be a public relations disaster.

Realizing the bind they were in, new CEO Howard Linder and GM Pat Gillick met with Griffey early in November only to learn that their franchise player had little intention of re-signing with the club. Unwilling to let Junior leave without getting anything in return, the team called a press conference the next day to announce that the team was trying to accommodate Junior's desire to be traded to a contending team closer to his family home in Orlando.

Although he had said as early as 1998 that "the only other team I'd play for is Cincinnati", Griffey submitted a list of four teams (Reds, Mets, Astros and Braves) to whom he would accept a trade. Reportedly, Griffey declined to include the Yankees on the list because of a longstanding grudge against George Steinbrenner, who had once kicked the 12-year-old Griffey out of the club's locker room.

In December, public sentiment turned against Griffey when Junior vetoed a trade to the Mets that would have sent the Mariners a bonanza of young talent, including starter Octavio Dotel, closer Armando Benitez and speedy outfielder Roger Cedeno. Although he later claimed he had rejected the deal because the Mariners had given him only 15 minutes to reach a major life decision, many felt that Griffey, who had a reputation for being hyper-sensitive to criticism, simply had no desire to play in the media maelstrom of Gotham.

Regardless of the reasons, it soon became obvious that Junior was only interested in following his father's footsteps to the Queen City. Receiving a death threat in the mail that mentioned his family "was pretty much the last straw as far as me staying in Seattle," Griffey announced -- a stance that robbed the Mariners of any leverage, since the Reds knew that if they couldn't work out a suitable deal, they could always sign him as a free agent after the 2000 season.

The long fiasco finally ended in early February, when Cincinnati agreed to part with outfielder Mike Cameron, starter Brett Tomko, minor-league pitcher Jake Meyer and minor-league infielder Antonio Perez for the man who had just been named the youngest member of baseball's All-Century Team. To finalize the deal, Griffey's agent, Brian Goldberg, negotiated a nine-year contract with the Reds for around $116 million -- far less than what he could have made on the free-agent market. "I'm finally home," Griffey said at a press conference on February 10th in Cincinnati, surrounded by his father (now a Reds' bench coach) and two children. "It doesn't matter how much money you make. It's where you feel happy."

At the start of the 2000 season, the 30-year-old Griffey had already hit 398 round trippers. He was tabbed by no less an authority than Hank Aaron himself as the player most likely to challenge Hammerin' Hank's career record of 755 home runs. (AGL)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » June 2, 1987: The Mariners select Cincinnati high schooler Ken Griffey Jr., the son of Braves OF Ken Griffey, with the first pick overall in the free-agent draft. Picking 2nd, the Pirates take Mark Merchant, while the Twins take another high schooler Willie Banks with the 3rd pick. The Cubs pick Mike Harkey and the White Sox pick Jack McDowell with the 6th selection. McDowell will be the first of this class to reach the majors, Picking 9th, the Royals take Kevin Appier and on the 58th round, take UCLA's Jeff Conine. With the 22nd pick, the Astros take Seton Hall's Craig Biggio, who will be the first non-pitcher from the draft to make the majors. Picking 6th in the first round, the Braves select Derek Lilliquist, and on the 13th round take Mike Stanton. Because of his expected high price tag, Mike Mussina is selected in the 13th round. Albert Belle, suspended by LSU's coach after chasing a fan, goes to the Indians in round 2. Robb Nen goes in the 32nd round. » April 3, 1989: Facing Dave Stewart, Ken Griffey Jr. doubles in his first ML at bat, but the Athletics beat the Mariners, 3–2. Mark McGwire homers for the A's. » April 10, 1989: Ken Griffey Jr. hits his first ML home run, off Eric King, in Seattle's 6–5 win over the White Sox. He and his father, a reserve outfielder on the Reds, are the first father-and-son duo to play in the major leagues at the same time. » August 31, 1990: Ken Griffeys -- Ken Griffey Jr. in CF and Ken Griffey Sr. in LF -- become the first father-and-son combination in ML history to play as teammates, and they each go 1-for-4 in Seattle's 5–2 win over the Royals, The Mariners had signed the elder Griffey after he was waived by the Reds last week. » July 14, 1992: The American League pounds out a record 19 hits in defeating the National League by a score of 13–6 in the All-Star Game. It's the AL's 5th straight win. Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr., who stroked a single, double, and home run is named the game's MVP, 12 years after his dad wins the same honor. » June 15, 1993: Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr. hits the 100th home run of his career in the Mariners' 6-1 win over the Royals, making him the 6th-youngest player to reach that level in major league history. » July 28, 1993: Seattle's Ken Griffey homers for the 8th consecutive game, tying the major league mark set by Dale Long and tied by Don Mattingly. The Mariners lose to the Twins, however, 5-1. » August 8, 1993: Mariners' P Brad Holman is struck in the forehead by a line drive off the bat of Texas's Mario Diaz. The Rangers win the game, 7-1, and Holman suffers a fractured sinus cavity. Ken Griffey Jr. makes an error in the contest, breaking his American League record string of 573 consecutive chances without a miscue. » June 17, 1994: Seattle defeats KC, 5-1, as Ken Griffey Jr. socks his 30th home run of the season. In doing so, he joins Babe Ruth as the only players to have hit 30 homers before June 30. Ruth did so in both 1928 and 1930. » June 22, 1994: OF Ken Griffey Jr. leads the Mariners to a 12-3 win over the Angels by stroking his 31st home run of the season. In doing so, Griffey breaks Babe Ruth's record for most home runs before the end of June. » July 2, 1994: Seattle OF Ken Griffey Jr. leads the Mariners to a 12-6 win over the Yankees by getting five singles. » May 26, 1995: At the Kingdome, Ken Griffey breaks two bones in his left wrist making a spectacular catch against the RF wall. He will miss 73 games but will return to play with a four inch metal plate attached to his wrist. » September 28, 1995: Randy Johnson wins his 17th as Ken Griffey, Jr. snaps an 8th inning tie with a grand slam, as the Mariners top Texas, 6–2. The M's hold a two game lead over the Angels. » October 3, 1995: The Yankees best Seattle, 9-6, in the opening game of their AL Division Series despite 2 HRs by Ken Griffey Jr. » October 8, 1995: Edgar Martinez’s 2-run double in the bottom half of the 11th innings gives the Mariners a dramatic 6-5 win, and a 3-games-to-2 victory over the Yankees in the Division Series. Martinez bats .571 with 10 RBIs against the Yankees. Ken Griffey, Jr., who beats the relay home to score the winning run, has 5 homers in the series. » October 11, 1995: Cleveland OF Manny Ramirez goes 4-for-4, including 2 HRs, to pace the Indians to a 5-2 win over the Mariners in Game 2 of the ALCS. HRs by Ken Griffey Jr. and Jay Buhner account for Seattle’s runs. » January 31, 1996: Ken Griffey Jr. becomes baseball's highest-paid player by signing a 4-year, $34 million contract. » April 11, 1996: The Mariners get three homers from Dan Wilson and home runs from Russ Davis and Ken Griffey, Jr. to roll over Detroit 9–1. Randy Johnson, who has a no-hitter through six innings, is the winner. » April 16, 1996: Dan Wilson hits a grand slam and drives in all five Seattle runs to give the M's a 5–3 win over the Angels. Ken Griffey Jr.'s sensational catch of George Arias' line drive robs him of a 3-run homer. » May 14, 1996: Dwight Gooden, on the verge of being dropped from the Yankees just two weeks ago, twirls a no-hitter to sink the Mariners, 2–0. Dr. No walks two in the 9th, but retires Ken Griffey, Jr., K's Jay Buhner, and induces Paul Sorrento to pop out to end it. Gerald Williams saves the no-hitter when he runs down a 400-foot Alex Rodriguez liner in the first inning and turns it into a double play. Gooden (2–3) has now thrown 16 straight innings of hitless ball. » May 21, 1996: At Fenway Park, Seattle pounds out 19 hits to beat Boston, 13–7. Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the 7th-youngest player to collect 200th homers, when he connects in the M's 6-run 4th inning: Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson and Hank Aaron were all younger. Jay Buhner hits a 2-run shot in the inning, the 5th game in a row he's connected, and Edgar Martinez adds four hits in the game. » May 24, 1996: In Seattle, Ken Griffey, Jr. sinks the Yankees with three home runs, scoring five runs and driving in six as the Mariners win, 10–4. It is the first 3-homer game for Griffey. Scott Kamieniecki takes the loss, his last game with the Yankees. His season will end in a month when he goes on the Triple-A DL. » May 28, 1996: Cal Ripken powers three homers, good for eight RBI, to lead the Orioles to a 12–8 win over Seattle. Ripken hits a pair of two-run homers and a grand slam, tying him with Eddie Murray as the O's career home run leader with 333. Brother Billy Ripken also homers in the same inning with Cal, and Brady Anderson (19), Rafael Palmeiro, and Ken Griffey, Jr. (18) add homers as both teams total 24 hits. » June 19, 1996: In the Blue Jays 11–3 win over the Mariners, M's star Ken Griffey breaks a bone in his right hand when he fouls a pitch off it. He'll be out four weeks. » July 14, 1996: In Seattle, Ken Griffey returns to the M's lineup after missing 20 games and drives in three runs with a homer and double. Bob Wells (8–2) pitches a 4-hitter to beat the Angels, 8–0. » July 31, 1996: The Mariners club the Brewers, 9–3, hitting seven homers in the game. Jay Buhner, Ken Griffey, and Alex Rodriguez each have a pair, with Brian Hunter adding one. Sterling Hitchcock (11–4) is the winner. » August 25, 1996: The Red Sox defeat the Mariners by a score of 8-5. Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez hit back-to-back homers for Seattle in the 8th inning, marking the 17th time this season Mariner players have hit consecutive homers, for a major league record. » September 1, 1996: After the Baltimore manager has his bat removed in the 5th inning, Seattle SS Alex Rodriguez borrows a bat from Ken Griffey and belts a 3-run homer to lead the Mariners to a 5–1 win over the O's. A-Rod's 34th home run pins the loss on David Wells. » April 16, 1997: Randy Johnson wins his 14th straight decision, beating the Tigers, 7–3. Ken Griffey, Jr. breaks a tie with a 2-run homer in the top of the 8th for Seattle. » April 25, 1997: The Mariners defeat the Blue Jays, 13-8, behind OF Ken Griffey's three home runs. The round-trippers give Griffey a major league-leading 13 on the year, and a major-league record for the month of April. The first two dingers come off Roger Clemens and the 3rd, off Mike Timlin is the 250th of Griffey's career. Griffey had a three homer game in May of last year. » May 27, 1997: Mariners' reliever Norm Charlton walks Chuck Knoblauch with the bases loaded, as Minnesota caps a six-run ninth-inning rally to win, 11–10. Seattle's collapse mars a game in which Ken Griffey Jr. and Joey Cora each set records. Griffey hits his 23rd homer, breaking his own major league mark for homers through May; Cora is 4-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to a team-record 22 games, and also ties the A.L. mark for switch-hitters. » June 2, 1997: In Seattle, Randy Johnson fires a two-hitter and Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 25th home run as Seattle tops the Blue Jays, 3–0. Johnson (8-1) doesn't allow a hit until Alex Gonzalez's bloops a single in the sixth. Gonzalez is caught stealing, and Johnson surrenders a bloop single to Tilson Brito. Johnson strikes out nine to beat Luis Andujar (0-1). » June 18, 1997: The Giants win their 2nd straight against the Mariners, 4–2, behind Mark Gardner three hitter for seven 2/3 innings. Stan Javier hits his third interleague home run. Javier, who spent eight seasons in the American League, has just those three home runs this season. The two teams set a major league record by having four sons of former major leaguers in the lineups: Ken Griffey Jr., Jose Cruz Jr., Barry Bonds, and Javier. » June 30, 1997: Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr., who missed the last two All Star games with injuries, is elected for the 8th straight year. Griffey tops all players with 3,514,340 votes. Orioles 3B Cal Ripken, picked to play in his 15th All-Star game, is second with 2,571,985 votes. » September 15, 1997: Ken Griffey, Jr. powers homers #51 and #52 in Seattle's 7–3 win over the Blue Jays. Junior has now hit 100 homers in a 2-year span, just the 6th major leaguer to do so. » September 16, 1997: Mark McGwire hits his 52nd home run hours after signing a three-year contract with the Cards for $28.5 million. But Cardinals' closer Dennis Eckersley collapses in the 9th and the Dodgers come back to win, 7–6. McGwire's 517-foot first-inning blast, the longest ever measured at Busch Stadium, ties him for the ML lead with Ken Griffey Jr. » September 22, 1997: Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 54th and 55th homers, overtaking Mark McGwire for the major league lead, as Seattle clinches a tie for the American League West title, defeating Oakland 4-2. Griffey now has the seventh-highest homer total in ML history, trailing only Roger Maris (61 in 1961), Ruth (60 in 1927), Babe Ruth (59 in 1921), Foxx (58 in 1932), Hank Greenberg (58 in 1938) and Hack Wilson (56 in 1930). Griffey's 55 homers are the most in the majors since Maris set the record in 1961. He has five games left, all at the Kingdome, to match Maris' mark. With three home runs, Seattle has 257 this season, tying the major league mark set by Baltimore last year. » November 12, 1997: Ken Griffey Jr. is named American League MVP. » April 13, 1998: Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr. slugs two home runs in a 6–5 loss to Cleveland. In doing so, he becomes the second–youngest player in big league history to reach 300 homers for his career, at 28 years and 143 days. Jimmie Foxx, at 27 years 328 days, was the youngest. » September 7, 1998: Mariners' OF Ken Griffey Jr. has four hits, including two homers and reaches the 50th home run level. He's the 3rd player to do so in successive seasons. Seattle defeats the Orioles, 11–1, as Griffey knocks in six runs.. » September 15, 1998: Ken Griffey Jr. hits homer #52 and drives in the 1,000th run of his career in the Mariners 12–7 win over the Twins. He becomes the 4th–youngest player in history to reach the milestone, after Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, and Lou Gehrig. Junior hit his 52nd on this date last year. » September 16, 1998: Ken Griffey Jr. steals his 20th base of the season in a 4–1 victory over Oakland. He becomes just the 3rd player in history to record at least 50 home runs and at least 20 stolen bases in the same season. Willie Mays and Brady Anderson are the others. » September 17, 1998: Ken Griffey, Jr. hits his 53rd homer to pace the Mariners to an 8–0 whipping of Oakland. Tom Candiotti serves up the helping of gopher to Junior. » September 22, 1998: Ken Griffey Jr. brings home his 140th run of the season to become the 3rd player in history to reach that level in at least three consecutive seasons. Griffey's two home runs give him 55 on the season, and lift Seattle to a 7–6 win over Oakland. » September 25, 1998: Ken Griffey hits home run #56, and drives in five runs, to lead Seattle to a 15–4 victory over Texas. » April 29, 1999: Down 6–1, the Mariners score 11 runs in the 5th inning and six more in the 6th on the way to a 22–6 pasting of Detroit. Ken Griffey Jr. hits two home runs and drives in six in the inning. Tiger P Mel Rojas is pounded for eight hits and 11 earned runs in one and 2/3 innings of relief. It is the first time in 40 years that Detroit has given up 11 runs in a frame. By not committing an error in the contest, Mariner 1B David Segui becomes baseball's all–time leader in fielding percentage among first basemen (1,000 games minimum), moving slightly ahead of Steve Garvey. » June 9, 1999: In a game featuring 10 home runs, the Rockies defeat the Mariners by a score of 16-11. Butch Huskey, Ken Griffey Jr., David Bell, and David Segui homer for Seattle. Angel Echevarria homers twice for the Rockies, who also get round-trippers from Edgard Clemente, Kurt Abbott, Dante Bichette, and P Curtis Leskanic. » June 27, 1999: The Mariners defeat the Rangers, 5-2, in the last game played at the Kingdome as Ken Griffey, Jr. fittingly clouts the last homer. Griffey hit 198 of his 377 homers at the Dome. The Mariners will open their new home -- Safeco Field -- on July 15th. » November 2, 1999: Seattle announces that superstar Ken Griffey Jr. is requesting a trade closer to his home. The Mariners agree to try to trade him during the off season. » February 10, 2000: The Mariners accommodate OF Ken Griffey Jr. trading him to his hometown Reds in exchange for P Brett Tomko, OF Mike Cameron, IF Antonio Perez, and P Jake Meyer. The Reds resisted giving up INF Pokey Reese. » April 3, 2000: The Reds and Brewers play to a 3-3 tie, called in the 6th inning because of rain, in Ken Griffey Jr.'s debut. It is the first tie game on Opening Day in 35 years. » April 10, 2000: The Rockies beat the Reds, 7-5, despite Ken Griffey Jr.'s 400th career home run. Griffey is the youngest in history to reach that milestone. » April 20, 2000: The Reds defeat the Giants, 11-1, as Pokey Reese gets five hits, including a double. Ken Griffey Jr. hits a pair of home runs for Cincinnati. » July 8, 2000: The Reds defeat the Indians, 14-5, as Ken Griffey Jr. hits two home runs and drives in eight runs for Cincinnati. Chris Stynes strokes five hits for the Reds. » July 10, 2000: Sammy Sosa wins the All-Star Game Home Run Derby by defeating defending champ, Ken Griffey Jr., in the finals. » September 19, 2000: In the Reds 7–3 loss to the Giants, Ken Griffey Jr. pinch hits his 400th home run. He is the first to reach the mark with a PH. Livan Hernandez is the winner as Bonds knocks in a run and Jeff Kent adds three hits. » April 26, 2001: Luis Gonzalez bangs two home runs in Arizona's 13-6 win over Atlanta to tie the major-league record for home runs in the month of April with 13 held by Ken Griffey, Jr. His first home run, off Greg Maddux, ties the NL record. Steve Finley also homers off Maddux, a 3-run shot, and adds a triple and single to drive in five runs. Damian Miller has two homers, including a back-to-back shots with Erubiel Durazo in the 8th. Robert Ellis (3–0) is the winner. » August 9, 2001: The Giants score a 6–4 victory over the Reds in a game marked by two milestone home runs. Ken Griffey Jr. hits the 450th of his career, becoming the youngest player (by 15 days, over Jimmie Foxx) in history to reach that mark. He was also the youngest to hit 350 and 400. Barry Bonds hits his 49th of the season, becoming the fastest to ever reach that number. » August 20, 2001: The Reds defeat the Cardinals, 5–4, on Ken Griffey Jr.'s 11th–inning inside–the–park home run. The run-off home run breaks the Cardinals 11–game winning streak. The Cards, who also won 10 in a row in May, are the 1st team since the 1978 Pirates to post a pair of double–digit win streaks in the same season. » August 26, 2001: Led by hot-hitting Adam Dunn's four hits and Ken Griffey Jr.'s four RBIs, the Reds roll by Montreal, 17–4. Robin Jennings, in his ML debut, collects four hits, a Reds club record and tying the ML record. » October 4, 2001: Tim Raines Jr. plays center field and Tim Raines Sr. plays left field in the Orioles' 5-4 loss to Boston. They become the 2nd father-son duo to play in the same game, matching the feat turned by Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. The Orioles acquired the senior Raines yesterday from the Expos. » August 9, 2002: The Expos trounce the Brewers, 11–4, as OF Vladimir Guerrero ties Ken Griffey Jr. as the 2nd–youngest player ever to reach 200 home runs. » November 29, 2002: The Reds and Padres reach an agreement to trade Ken Griffey, Jr. for Phil Nevin, but Nevin, with a no–trade clause in his contract, nixes the deal. He says he would only agree to a trade to a West Coast team that trains in Arizona. Griffey tore a tendon in his knee during the first week, setting up another season limited by leg injuries. He also pulled a hamstring and strained hip muscles, limiting him to 70 games, a .264 average, eight homers and 23 RBIs. In a week, the White Sox will turn down an offer of Griffey for Magglio Ordonez.