MVN - Most Valuable Network

On the Road to 600—Literally?

Of all the milestone bombs he’s hit in his major league career, Ken Griffey, Jr. has a rather fair shot at parking Number 600 in the same place where he parked Numbers 200, 300, 400, and 500—in the road ballpark.

Griffey started Houston’s Chris Sampson off early in the first inning in Cincinnati Wednesday night, when he shot Number 597 over the right field fence. The launch was his first home run on the Reds’ homestand due to finish Thursday.

And, as it turned out, it was the only one Junior hit on the homestand (he went bombless Thursday while Houston’s Lance Berkman continued making Great American Ballpark his favourite out-of-town bomb launcher, with eighteen in the Reds’ playpen), before hitting the road for sets in San Francisco, St. Louis, and Atlanta.

Griffey could become one of three members of the 600-bomb club who hit every hundred-milestoner but one (Number 100, for Griffey) on the road. Here’s where the other members parked their hundreds, and off whom, in order of their arrival:

Babe Ruth—100: At the Polo Grounds (the Yankees shared the joint with the New York Giants for a few years); pitcher: Jim Saw. 200: At Navin Field, Detroit; pitcher: Herman Pillette. 300: At Fenway Park; pitcher: Buster Ross. 400: At Shibe Park, Philadelphia; pitcher: Rube Walberg. 500: At League Park, Cleveland; pitcher: Willis Hudlin. 600: At Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis; pitcher: George Blaeholder. 700: At Navin Field; pitcher: Tommy Bridges.

Milestoners hit at home: One.

Willie Mays—200: At County Stadium, Milwaukee; pitcher: Warren Spahn. 300: At Wrigley Field, Chicago; pitcher: Jack Curtis. 400: At Candlestick Park, San Francisco; pitcher: Curt Simmons. 500: At the Astrodome, Houston; pitcher: Don Nottebart. 600: At Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego; pitcher: Mike Corkins.

Milestoners hit at home: One.

Hank Aaron—100: At Crosley Field, Cincinnati; pitcher: Don Gross. 200: At Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis; pitcher: Ron Kline. 300: At the Polo Grounds, New York (the Mets used it as their home park while awaiting Shea Stadium’s completion); pitcher: Roger Craig. 400: At Connie Mack Stadium (renamed from Shibe Park), Philadelphia; pitcher: Bo Belinsky. 500: At Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta; pitcher: Mike McCormick. 600: At Fulton County Stadium; pitcher: Gaylord Perry. 700: At Fulton County Stadium; pitcher: Ken Brett.

Milestoners hit at home: Three.

Barry Bonds—100: At Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh (home); pitcher: Andy Benes. 200: At Veterans Memorial Stadium, Philadelphia; pitcher: Jose DeLeon. 300: At Candlestick Park, San Francisco; pitcher: John Burkett. 400: At Joe Robbie Stadium, Florida; pitcher: Kirt Ojala. 500: At Candlestick Park; pitcher: Terry Adams. 600: At Pac Bell Park, San Francisco; pitcher: Kip Wells. 700: At SBC Park (renamed from Pac Bell); pitcher: Jake Peavy.

Milestoners hit at home: Four.

Sammy Sosa—100: At Wrigley Field, Chicago; pitcher: Trevor Hoffman. 200: At Wrigley Field; pitcher: Steve Kline. 300: At Wrigley Field; pitcher: Robert Person. 400: At Wrigley Field; pitcher: Shane Reynolds. 500: At Great American Ballpark; pitcher: Scott Sullivan. 600: At the Ballpark in Arlington; pitcher: Jason Marquis.

Milestoners hit at home: Four.

Ken Griffey, Jr., pending number 600—100: At the Kingdome, Seattle; pitcher: Billy Brewer. 200: At Fenway Park; pitcher: Vaughn Eshelman. 300: At Jacobs Field, Cleveland; pitcher: Jose Mesa. 400: At Coors Field, Colorado; pitcher: Rolando Arrojo. 500: At Busch Stadium, St. Louis; pitcher: Matt Morris.

This, if Griffey parks number 600 on the road, would link him to Babe Ruth and Willie Mays as the only members of the 600 Club to hit only one of their milestone mashes at home.

Griffey, by the way, has hit through this writing no leadoff bombs (no one even mistook him for a leadoff man despite his youthful five-tooling), four walkoffs, 205 go-aheaders, and 59 game-tyers. Where does that rank him in the club he’s about to join?

The data for Ruth is all but missing, unless someone’s been to the Hall of Fame library and looked it up afore me; that for Willie Mays and Hank Aaron is short a few. But from what is available, here they are:

Mays—No leadoff; five walkoff; 219 go-aheaders; 49 game-tyers.

Aaron—No leadoff; nine walkoffs; 245 go-aheaders; 71 game-tyers.

Bonds—Nine leadoff; ten walkoffs; 262 go-aheaders; 87 game-tyers.

Sosa—three leadoffs; ten walkoffs; 197 go-aheaders; 57 game tyers.

And how interesting is it that none of the Babe’s hundred-milestoners were hit in the House That He Built, while he’s the only member of the club to hit two of them in the same road park?

But, if you allow that it’s going to be Trevor Time in Cooperstown one of these years, it holds that Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Sammy Sosa are the only club members to have hit at least one of their hundred-milestone mashes against a future Hall of Famer.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 1:47 am and is filed under Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Catbird, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.