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Griffey Hits 500th Homer of His Career

Posted on: Sunday, 20 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

ST. LOUIS - Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th home run Sunday, becoming the 20th player to reach that mark when he connected in the sixth inning of the Cincinnati Reds' game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Griffey led off the inning against Matt Morris with his 19th homer of the season, becoming the sixth-youngest player to hit 500.

All of Griffey's teammates came out on the field to congratulate him after the historic homer. He then went to a box next to the Reds' dugout and hugged his father, Ken Griffey Sr.

Jimmie Foxx was the youngest to hit 500, reaching the milestone at 32. Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth also hit theirs at 34, the same age as Griffey.

Three other active players have hit 500 homers. Barry Bonds is third on the career list with 676, Sosa has 549 and Rafael Palmeiro has 538. Fred McGriff needs seven homers to become the 21st player to hit 500.

Griffey was 5-for-21 with four RBIs in six games since homering last Sunday against Cleveland, and hadn't come close to the fences before hitting a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall, a drive estimated at 393 feet.

Griffey hit a pair of high fly balls in his first two at-bats. He flied out to center near the warning track leading off the second, and hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in the first run in the Reds' five-run fourth.

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