FanHouse

Tonight, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th career home run. That's a great accomplishment, but it's not as great as it could be. That got me thinking a little bit. What would be happening right now if Junior stayed healthy?

September 19th, 2000- Nursing his first hamstring injury, Griffey hits a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning off of Livan Hernandez. On his way out of the park that night, he spies a penny lying face down in the parking lot. He thinks, "See a penny, pick it up, and all day you'll have good luck." As he bends down, Pokey Reese kicks it out of his way and screams, "DAMMIT, JUNIOR! Face down pennies are bad luck! Are you an idiot?" Pokey's shove causes Griffey to further injure his already ailing hamstring As a result, Griffey doesn't try to play on it to end the year and fully rehabs it over the winter.

2001- Griffey cruises into 2001 refreshed and at full-strength. He smashes 11 homers in April and never looks back. He can't keep pace with Barry Bonds, but he does improve in his second year in the NL and he hits 44 home runs and his career total sits at 482. As for the Reds? They win 71 games.

2002- A healthy Griff smacks 42 homers, becoming the youngest player to 500 in history, and the Reds finish second in the NL Central, though well behind Bonds' Giants for the wild card. He sits at 524 homers months before his 33rd birthday.

2003- This is where things get crazy. Great American Ballpark opens and Junior bashes 30 home runs in seventy games, setting the league abuzz with a potential run at Bonds's record of 73. Desperate to save his job, Jim Bowden trades Griffey to the Cubs for Corey Patterson, Bobby Hill, and Matt Clement. Griffey continues to flourish in Chicago, ending the season with 64 home runs (588 total). Unfortunately, the trade of Clement leaves Shawn Estes pitching big playoff innings. The Cubs win the National League pennant, but lose to the Red Sox in a six game Armageddon World Series. They played the Red Sox because the Yankees acquired Aramis Ramirez from a Pirate team desperate to dump payroll to replace a struggling Aaron Boone at third at the trade deadline (another effect: A-Rod never leaves Texas). In Game 7 of the ALCS, Ramirez whiffed mightily on a Tim Wakefield knuckle ball and the Red Sox won the game in the fourteenth inning.

2004- Griffey belts 52 homers, cruising past the 600 barrier on May 2nd, 2004 at the relatively young age of 34. He joins only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Barry Bonds in the 600 club. The Cubs edge the Astros for the Wild Card, but lose to the juggernaut Cardinals' in the NLCS. Griffey finishes the season up with 640 bombs.

2005- Griffey's age slowly starts to catch up to him, just as the Cubs' pitching falls apart. Junior belts only 39 home runs (for a total of 679) as the Cubs finish below .500. Whispers out of Wrigley indicate that he's looking for a trade to a contender, as the Cubs future looks bleak unless they plan on dropping $300 million or so on free agents in the near future.

2006- The Cubs plummet into the depths of the NL Central, but Griffey gets off to a great start, hitting 23 home runs before the All-Star Break. His 21st, on June 20th, makes him the third member of the 700 Club. During the break, Hendry trades him to the Dodgers for Andy LaRoche, Matt Kemp, and two fringe prospects. The strange teaming means that Griffey's first appearance in Dodger Blue is actually at the All-Star Game. The deal sets the Cubs for a World Series title in 2011. Griffey, meanwhile, puts the Dodgers over top, despite seeing a serious drop in power due to the move to Chavez Ravine. He only hits 14 home runs after the break, but he helps the Dodgers to 92 wins and the NL West title. In the first round, they easily handle the struggling Cardinals, then shock the Mets in seven games in the NLCS and beat the Tigers in the World Series in five games when their pitching staff forgets how to throw the ball to first base. The night after his World Series win, the front window of Griffey's house is broken with a brick. The culprit is never caught, though the words, "I hate you. BB25" are scrawled on the rock in orange and black letters. Bill Plaschke's head explodes while writing a gleeful column excoriating Paul DePodesta and praising Ned Colletti for acquiring Junior.

2007- An aging Junior hits 30 home runs, bringing his career total to 746. The Dodgers just miss the playoffs, finishing a game behind the Rockies and Padres for the Wild Card.

June 9, 2008- With his tenth home run of the year, Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 756th home run to pass Hank Aaron and move into second place on the all-time list. He is a mere seven home runs away from tying Barry Bonds' all-time record of 762. Barry Bonds sues Major League Baseball for collusion, alleging that no team will sign him because the league wants his record broken. The Supreme Court throws out Bonds' lawsuit with Chief Justice Roberts citing the little-known "America Hates Jerks" clause that he says is the underlying basis of the Constitution. This is crap, but no one seems to mind.