#Shortstops: Griffey springs into action
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.'s “sweetest swing in baseball” rocketed him to the top of many record lists in his 22-year career.
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But his electric April in 1997 may have been the peak of his prowess.
In his 1,078th career game, “The Kid” made history becoming the first player to hit 13 home runs before the end of April.
The Seattle Mariners arrived in Toronto to battle the Blue Jays on a warm, windless Friday on April 25, 1997. The SkyDome was packed for an evening game with 31,215 fans to cheer on their home team. The Mariners were set to face the formidable Toronto starting pitcher Roger Clemens, who would go on to win the American League Cy Young Award that year with an impressive 2.05 ERA and a 21-7 record. But Griffey was ready for the challenge.
After flying out in his first at-bat and having his second cut short by Toronto shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who tagged Joey Cora in his attempt to steal second, Griffey walked up to the plate in the third inning with a plan in mind. On a 2-1 count, Griffey hit a home run deep on the right field line – home run No. 11. The Kid repeated this magic against Clemens in the seventh inning with home run No. 12, making it a one-run game.
With the Mariners behind 7-6 and Clemens pulled from the game, Seattle started the eighth against the Blue Jays bullpen. The Mariners answered the one-run deficit with two home runs and an RBI single, pulling into the lead with a whopping 12 runs.
Riding this momentum, Griffey stepped in to face Mike Timlin. In an 0-1 count, he hit a rocket deep into right field, clearing the fence and cementing the Mariners’ win and his place in history.
Griffey went on to finish the season with a whopping 56 home runs, 147 RBI and .304 batting average in 608 at-bats, earning the American League Most Valuable Player Award. This momentous record was tied by the Diamondbacks’ Luis Gonzalez in 2001 and broken by Albert Pujols in 2006, who pushed the record to 14.
Griffey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
Carly Stewart was the 2023 archives intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
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