Griffey slugs 52nd HR
Junior drives in 5, becomes 4th youngest to 1,000 RBIs
Posted: Wednesday September 16, 1998 01:59 AM
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Griffey, who hit his 52nd homer, was 4-for-6 with a stolen base and has 132 RBIs this season AP |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- He was expecting a call from mom. Dad, too. That
conversation will be brief.
Hi, son. How are you? How are the kids? Congratulations. Thanks, dad.
Talk to you again soon.
That's how historic milestones go for Ken Griffey
Jr. -- overpowering on the field and understated off it.
Griffey hit his AL-leading 52nd homer and drove in five runs to become
the fourth-youngest player ever to reach 1,000 RBIs, leading the Seattle Mariners over
the Minnesota Twins
12-7 Tuesday.
As he usually does, Griffey downplayed the significance of yet another
awesome step in his brilliant 10-year career. Lots of shrugs. Lots of
smiles. Little to say about himself.
He had no plans for big celebrations, either.
"I'll get a call congratulating me from my dad, and my mom," he said.
"He'll ask me where the kids are. And I'll say in Seattle. And he'll say
I'll talk to you later."
Griffey lined a two-run single to center field with the bases loaded in
a four-run fourth inning to pass 1,000 RBIs. He then added a three-run
homer in a six-run seventh.
Griffey has 1,004 RBIs in 10 seasons. At 28 years and 10 months, he got
to 1,000 faster than anyone except Mel Ott (27 years, three months), Jimmie
Foxx (27 years, eight months) and Lou Gehrig (28 years, 9 1/2 months).
Gehrig got to the milestone 10 days faster than Griffey.
Griffey was 4-for-6 with a stolen base and has 132 RBIs this season,
third in the AL. He needs one more steal to join Willie Mays (1955) and Brady
Anderson (1996) as the only players with 50 homers and 20 steals in a
season.
His teammates kidded him before the game about his 0-for-5 performance
in Monday's 10-3 win. Later, they marveled at his ability.
"Days like today make you realize how special this guy is," said Alex
Rodriguez, who had three hits and needs one home run to become only the
third 40-40 player in major league history. "He's unbelievable. He's
amazing. He's the best I've ever seen, to be so young and to be so
consistent."
Paul Abbott (2-0), a former Twin, allowed four runs and seven hits in
five-plus innings on his 31st birthday. In his previous outing, he earned
his first victory as a starter in six years. Tuesday's start was just his
second since 1993.
He was in the right place at the right time to see a part of baseball
history.
"When you start playing the game you're a fan, just like everybody,"
Abbott said. "I've got as good a seat as anybody. That's something I'll be
able to tell my kids and grandkids about forever."
Edgar
Martinez also drove in two runs for Seattle, which finished 6-0 at the
Metrodome this season.
Matt
Lawton hit his 19th homer, Javier Valentin hit his third and Denny Hocking
hit his second for the Twins, but they still lost their sixth straight.
Lawton joked that he was to blame for Griffey's big day. Griffey came
into the game with a .195 average, one homer and five RBIs against the
Twins all season, a fact Lawton pointed out after Monday's game.
"The guys said, `Don't say that. Don't wake him up,"' Lawton said. "What
does he do? He puts on a show."
Frank
Rodriguez (4-6) lost his fourth straight start for Minnesota. He
allowed six runs -- three earned -- on six hits in 3 2-3 innings. He has a
12.86 ERA during his current losing streak.
Seattle broke the game open with six runs in a wild seventh that
included the third ejection of Twins manager Tom Kelly's 12-year career.
The inning began when first-base umpire Dave Phillips was forced to
leave the game after a collision with Raul Ibanez, who nearly was thrown
out by Lawton after a sharp single to right field.
David Bell,
Dan Wilson and
Rodriguez drove in runs to make it 9-4 before Griffey homered off Eddie
Guardado. As Griffey circled the bases, Guardado got in an argument
with home-plate umpire Dale Scott, upset because Scott called a close 2-2
pitch to Griffey a ball. Griffey homered on the next pitch, a 343-foot
drive that barely cleared the right-field wall.
Kelly was ejected for the first time since June 9, 1990, at the start of
an uncharacteristic on-field argument that lasted several minutes.
"I had to go out and protect my pitcher the best I can," Kelly said.
"What Eddie did was wrong, but I'd have bee more upset with Eddie if he
didn't get upset."
Notes: Seattle finished the season 9-2 against the Twins. ...
Lawton's 19 homers are the most by a Minnesota player since Marty Cordova
hit 24 as a rookie in 1995. ... Twins center fielder Chris Latham
struck out three times and has fanned 22 times in 56 at-bats this season.
... Paul
Molitor has won the seventh Branch Rickey Award for outstanding
community service. Kirby Puckett (1993) is the only other Minnesota player
to win the award. ... Tuesday's announced attendance was 8,024, but the
crowd was closer to 3,000.
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