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.

The pressure of chasing a milestone turned Griffey into a shell of his slugging self. With every pitch and every at-bat scrutinized, the mental strain became as powerful as the physical strain. Finally, he’s able to turn the page, focus on playing the game, and forget about making history every time he takes the field. This can only be beneficial when it comes to his fantasy value for the remainder of the year.

My Take
In an age where banned substances have altered the complexion of baseball’s record books, it is a breath of fresh air to see Griffey join elite company at the top of the home run list. And that’s not to mention the adversity Griffey faced in his early tenure in Cincinnati. There is a sense of redemption in seeing him eclipse the 600 home run mark because in 2002 and 2003, it looked like this day would never happen. Today is a great day for Griffey, and it is a great day for baseball when clean players like he and Manny Ramirez take center stage.

Fantasy Spin
This can only be seen as a positive for managers who own Griffey. There’s no debating what effect a looming milestone has on a player as he tenses up and feels the added pressure. It’s still early enough that Griffey can make a charge at a 10th career 30-homer season, but 20-plus is a more reasonable expectation. He is wearing down, and the Reds have less and less motivation by the day to trot him out there and risk injury.

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.