Ken Griffey Jr. is Paul's choice in center field

Ken Griffey Jr. is Paul's choice in center field
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

He had long ago left the Great Northwest when I finally saw an Indians player hit a ball over the head of the best center fielder I've ever seen.

Ken Griffey Jr. was wearing Cincinnati red and white and years of injuries had turned his legs and hamstrings to shredded wheat. I can't remember the player who did it. I just remember that I'd never seen it before.

When Griffey played for the Seattle Mariners, under the concrete roof of the Kingdome, he caught everything. He had great speed and instincts going back on the ball for a 6-3, 228-pound man. He didn't play deep and there wasn't a center-field wall that scared him.

Griffey's left arm was strong and accurate. There were no humps in his throws to the bases, just a long fluid line, like a bullet train headed into Tokyo with the throttle wide open.

I always thought his throws should have come with a train whistle or a contrail. Runners trying to advance on fly balls to center did so at their own peril.

There are those who say the only reason Seattle still has a big-league club is because of Griffey. They made him the No. 1 pick in the country in 1987 out of Cincinnati Moeller High School.

Two years later, Griffey, all of 19, was in the big leagues to stay. When the Mariners made the postseason in 1995 for the first time in franchise history, Griffey was the center of their universe.

He had, and still has, a great swing. It's a lovely, left-handed swing complete with the upward tilt of a true power hitter. The right-field wall at the Kingdome, where Griffey played his best baseball, was 23-feet high and so close you felt like you could touch it from the press box. It was 357 feet from the plate to right center and 316 feet down the line.

The wall was painted pale blue with out-of-town scores displayed on it. Griffey used his lovely swing to hit homer after homer over that wall.

The dome's artificial turf was fast and worn. There always seemed to be a haze in the air and at times ceiling panels fell to the field. Griffey loved the place.

In one four-year stretch from 1996-99, he hit 209 homers. Here's the breakdown - 49 in '96, 56 in '97, 56 in '98 and 48 in '99.

Griffey spoke quietly, took batting practice wearing his cap backward and his spikes untied. He looked impossibly young and upset traditionalists with the ease in which he approached the game.

When the Mariners played the Indians, he seemed to spend more time on their side of the field than his own. He would talk to Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton and other players while they stretched near the batting cage. In one series at Jacobs Field, several hours before game time, Griffey spent a good 45 minutes in the Indians' locker room talking to players.

I've never seen another player do that before or since.

The Mariners moved out of the Kingdome and into Safeco Field on July 15, 1999.

Safeco Field, with its retractable roof and pitcher-friendly dimensions, was former manager Lou Piniella's dream. He had grown weary of the wild 10-7 games inside the Kingdome and longed for a bigger park that would reward pitching and defense as well as power.

It was not Griffey's favorite place. The heavy sea air settled into the park at night and killed his drives to right field.

The new park may have contributed to Griffey wanting out of Seattle. The Mariners' inability to pay him was a factor as well, which played a role in Randy Johnson being traded in 1998 and Alex Rodriguez becoming a free agent in 2000.

The Mariners traded Griffey to Cincinnati after the 1999 season for five players. He was home, back where his father played for the Big Red Machine, but injuries ravaged him during his prime years.

Griffey, 37, finally relented and moved to right field this year. The swing is still there and 600 homers are within reach this season.

If he had stayed healthy, it might be Griffey instead of Barry Bonds getting ready to break Hank Aaron's record this year. If not this year, he would have certainly been a threat to pass both Bonds and Aaron before retiring.