Ken Griffey Jr.’s slow, painful journey to 600 home runs finally reached a climax on Monday night, as he launched a Mark Hendrickson offering over the right field wall to become the sixth member of the 600-home run club. Griffey entered the season just seven home runs shy of the mark, then saw his progress slowed as the pressure mounted after slugging four homers in his first 21 games.

After that, Griffey endured a 23-game homerless drought that spanned April and May, then fell victim to “old man pains” after hitting No. 599 against Atlanta on May 31. He was in and out of the lineup as Cincinnati began a road trip through Philadelphia and Florida, which likely was a ploy to give him a better chance of hitting No. 600 on his home field. He fell a game short, though, going yard in the Reds’ final game of a seven-game road trip. Read more »