| Eric Galko. 28th May, 2008 - 5:06 pm
 Nowadays, when we think of pro baseball, we think of our favorite teams, the best players in the game, and sadly, steroids. The game as we knew it since 1993 was all about power and the long ball. Attendance was high, as were the run totals, breaking records in both respects. But, since many great players, mostly home run studs, have been accused and found guilty in the court of public opinion for their steroid use, it is tough to both trust any player or stat now, as well as believe that everyone was not juiced up.
A player who baseball fans and reporters alike feel is a great and under-rated player is a man who, at one time, was thought of as having the possibility of being the greatest player of all time: Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey started out his career with the Seattle Mariners from 1989 to 1999. In that time, he led the AL in home runs four times in ’94,’97,’98, and ’99. But after he left the Mariners, things took a turn for the worse for Griffey’s career because he became greatly injury prone.
Now I’m not here to make excuses for Ken Griffey Jr., nor am I here to make sure you know of his accomplishments. But, after the all the steroid scandals (hopefully) behind us, we should look back and reflect on who REALLY were the great players on the 90s and 00s. However, in this article, I will only take a look at the player who is number six on the all time home run list, behind three legends and two alleged cheaters. The list follows.
1. Barry Bonds---762
2. Hank Aaron---755
3. Babe Ruth---714
4. Willie Mays---660
5. Sammy Sosa---609
6. Ken Griffey Jr.---598 +
Now, I understand both Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa have never been found guilty of steroid use, but both have been in front of the grand jury, and neither has put forth evidence to defend them, nor said flat out, “I did not cheat”. They both have the common signs of steroid use. They both got really big really fast, and they both had a big spike in home run totals towards the end of their prime years. Also, they did not have many lasting injuries, which is the main purpose for “legal” steroid use.
However, Ken Griffey Jr. has been roughly the same size throughout his playing career; he has had up and down stats, his best being in his mid to late 20s, and he had many injuries that derailed his career. Sound like a steroid user? Not to me. I could be wrong, but if he was juicing, it probably wasn’t working.
If you eliminate Bonds and Sosa as their totals are “tainted”, that leaves you with Mays, the Babe, and Hammerin’ Hank. Because it is very difficult to determine how Griffey would have played had he not been injured, we can not “guestimate” how many he “could” have had. But, if we look at the home run per at bat ratios, it gives us a good indication where he stands.
Willie Mays played 21 seasons in the major leagues. In that time period, he batted a solid .302. In his 10881 career at bats, he managed 660 home runs, good enough for 4th all time. That means he hit a home run about 6.1 times per 100 at bats.
Babe Ruth played in 21 seasons in his career, mostly with the Yankees. His lifetime batting average was a whopping .342. In his 8398 at bats, he cracked 714 long balls, best of all time when he retired. That is a whopping 8.5 home runs per 100 at bats, something that players today rarely get on their hot weeks. That is among the best of all time in home runs per at bat.
Hank Aaron, the home run king in my books, hit his 755 home runs in 12,364 at bats. After his 23 seasons of greatness, he walked away as the best home run hitter of all time. His home run per at bat ratio was again, 6.1 home runs to every 100 at bats, very, very solid and still remarkable.
Now that you are probably wondering how Griffey stacks up, let's give his career breakdown. He currently has about 600 home runs in his 9000+ at bats. As of right now, he has a 6.6 home run per 100 at bat ratio going for him in his 20 seasons so far.
I know some doubters will be saying that whole “Yeah, but…” idea at me; but really, if he didn’t get injured as much as he did, don’t you think he would have gotten much closer? I mean, he is working towards 660, his only reasonable scenario right now, and he only played 10 seasons of more than 140 games, ending three of them on injured reserve.
Although he has gone a bit unnoticed until his pending 600 home run chase, I really believe Ken Griffey Jr. is a baseball star for all the RIGHT reasons. Griffey is one of the best 10 players of the 90s and 00s, and should be considered so. I think, without a doubt, Hank Aaron would love to see Griffey break the record since he is the perfect player to own such a record. It’s too bad he most likely won't because players like Bonds and Sosa took all of the glory. Hopefully, he will get the recognition he deserves for the rest of his career. Recognized that he has the reputation as a guy who did it the right way, even though the rest of baseball did not. |
