Way to go, Junior!

Wow! Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th career home run tonight. Not bad for a player who has said that he is not a home run hitter.

I remember when Junior broke in as a sensational 19 year old with the Seattle Mariners. He popularized wearing his hat backwards, not to be different, but just to be cool. It was so neat when his dad, who was still playing in the majors at age 39, was acquired by the Mariners and got to play in the same outfield as his son, a first in major league baseball.

I feel really blessed to have seen Junior play in person once upon a time. It was one of the first seasons of interleague play, in the summer of 1997, and my family came with me to the Seattle Kingdome on a trip to the West Coast. The San Francisco Giants were the visitors that day, so we got to see Barry Bonds, in addition to Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson on the bench, and of course, Junior in the outfield.

There were lots of home runs that day, and Junior hit one of them. It was so exciting. I am sure that the experience and memory is lost on my family, but I will never forget being at that game. It was worth the trip from Saskatoon to Maple Ridge to Seattle just to see Junior play.

Congratulations Junior on this amazing accomplishment. You have joined the big sluggers of history, Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa in the exclusive 600 homer club. Way to go, Junior!