| Show Griffey Sosa Bonds chase home run milestones Jake Williams Sports Reporter In every corner comer of America kids have dreamt of hitting a in the major leagues Thirty years ago three of those kids were named Ken Griffey Jr Sammy Sosa and Bany Barry Bonds Today all three arc not only hitting homers but chasing their own piece of HR history Ken Griffey Jr has been beena a pro for 18 years now v and even though it seems like hes he's been injured for 20 of them he has the eighth most homers in baseball history The 37 year-old year began his career in 1989 with the S Seattle Mariners but has played for the Cincinnati Reds since 2000 In his first seven seasons wi with th the Reds Griffey missed and half games two games two a seasons worth Despite hamstring injury woes Griffey is just two long balls shy of tying Mark McGwire's mark of and five shy of Jackie Robinsons Robinson's sixth best time all-time total of Griffey's number and homers came on June 16 against Sammy Sosas Sosa's Texas Rangers Sosa failed to homer in inthe inthe inthe the June 16 up match-up his first game since hitting career HR number When Sammy docs does hit his next one hell he'll be just the fifth player ever with Barring a sudden ending career-ending injury or undeniable evidence of steroid use Sosa is a lock to join Hank Aaron Babe Ruth Willie Villie Mays and Barry Bonds in the club Bonds has just once since last weeks week's Globe Number of his career came June 17 against former Pittsburgh teammate and current Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield It was Barrys Barry's first ever HR against Wakefield and the first time hes he's gone deep in Fenway Park the oldest park in Bonds now trails Hank Aarons Aaron's all- all time record by just seven The next week should be bea a historic one for the HR With so many milestones less than eight homers away the focus will surely be on the hitting aspect of Americas America's pastime Steroids have become inseparable from any discussion of HR records Mark McGwire Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds are all commonly mentioned during steroids debates Conversely Ken Griffey y Jr has enjoyed very little suspicion of steroid use probably because his body build and weight have remained relatively small and constant when compared to the other three sluggers |
