Ken Griffey Jr. may be the first-ever unanimous selection to the baseball Hall of Fame. He is the greatest home run hitter from the steroid era who was never suspected of using the drugs. Griffey played center field as well as anyone, earning the nickname “The Kid” for his reckless style of going after home runs and always having a smile on his face.
That smile may remind people of a current Cincinnati Red, second baseman Brandon Phillips. Another thing that it reminds us all of is that the best players don’t always win the most World Series. Phillips is trying to erase the memory of Joe Morgan as the best full-time second baseman in Reds history. It’s a fool’s errand. He will catch Morgan in hits in two years and may catch him in home runs as well. If he plays for the Reds for three seasons, he may catch Morgan in RBIs. Unfortunately, Morgan was the heart and soul of the Big Red Machine. Unlike Griffey, Phillips is not a local son who came home again. Phillips is a stranger who the fans have embraced.
Griffey came home to play and waited until his career was over before he let the Reds trade him to a contender to take a run at the playoffs. Griffey spent two seasons with the Seattle Mariners to end his career, but that was mostly a farewell tour. He had one shot with the 2008 Chicago White Sox. That team lost the AL Division Series to the Tampa Bay Rays and Griffey lost his only true shot at winning it all.
Phillips is still a plus contributor. He has a chance now to go to a contender and end his career as a winner. With 305 hits, 17 HRs and 16 steals, he will join a group of second basemen who are all in the Hall of Fame. It doesn’t matter what team he plays for when this happens. He just needs to hit the numbers.
For his legacy, ending his career on a winner would mean more than ending up a Red. Just ask The Kid what he thinks as an old man who is about to enter the Hall of Fame.
