Griffey’s Confidence On Rise, And So Are Stats

Mariner slugger Jay Buhner Tuesday confirmed what a boisterous Kingdome crowd of 46,935 suspected.

Ken Griffey Jr. is back.

Griffey, who missed more than two months of the season with a broken wrist, hit a home run and double as the Mariners hammered the California Angels 10-2 in the opener of a critical two-game showdown series.

Buhner matched Griffey’s homer and added a pair of singles to push the Angels close to elimination from the American League West race: three games behind the first-place M’s with just five games to play. The Mariners can virtually eliminate the Angels with a win today in the final home game of the season - not counting playoffs.

“I think I could definitely say Junior is back,” said Buhner in a raucous M’s clubhouse. “I think this whole homestand, his body language, the way he’s walking around, the way he’s carrying himself is a big difference from when he first came back from the injury.”

Griffey has hit four home runs in the past six games. He’s hit safely in eight straight and is batting .348 in the past 29. He’s playing with the poise and confidence to lead the Mariners into the playoffs for the first time in their 19-year history.

“It shows in everything Junior does, the way he’s going about his business,” Buhner said. “He’s got the bat speed now. He’s not favoring his wrist now. He’s taking some very good swings, hitting some balls out of the park, swinging the bat extremely well.

“He’s playing with the crowd, kidding and joking on the bench. I think he’s getting more comfortable every day.”

Buhner has been equally effective, hitting a game-winning homer against the Yankees when the M’s were only a wild card contender.

By driving in two runs Tuesday, Buhner set a club record with 118 runs batted in this season, despite the strike-shortened season and his 16-game stint on the bench with a strained hamstring last June. His homer Tuesday was his team-high 38th, continuing his torrid September.

“It feels awesome,” Buhner said. “I just want it to be contagious. I know what it feels like now and I’d like to be able to bottle it.

“It’s always nice to be hot. It does wonders for the confidence. Truthfully, I never thought I’d put up numbers like I’m throwing up there this season. I always thought I was capable of hitting 30 (home runs) and driving in 100 (runs). Above anything else is being able to have a good September when it really counts, to make a push so this team can move on to bigger and better things.”

Tuesday was the first game since Sept. 11 but the fifth time this season that Griffey and Buhner have hit home runs in the same game. They agree that the injury to the all-star center fielder was a critical development in the Mariner season.

“We’ve had a lot of talent on this team the last couple of years, but it finally took something like me going down for the guys to battle, and they did,” Griffey said. “Now they believe in themselves. They didn’t have me around to hit a three-run homer, and they pulled through.”

Buhner called Griffey’s injury “a big negative, but a lot of positive things came out of his being hurt. Even though we lost probably the best player in baseball it taught us how to pull together. It made this team jell, knowing that somehow, some way we’d have to find a way to improvise. It taught us a lot of character and it taught us how to win. It kind of teed us off but it woke us up a little bit.”

Despite his supreme self-confidence, Griffey struggled when he returned to the lineup Aug. 15. Buhner calls it “the first real test of his career. I think he believed he was going to pick right up where he left off. He believed he’d go out there like nothing had ever happened.

“Sure he was frustrated, but I don’t think Junior ever really gets down on himself. That’s what sets him apart, the difference between a great hitter and a good hitter.”

Griffey shrugs off the importance of his return to top form on the eve of the American League playoffs.

“I don’t even worry about it,” he said. “I just go out and do the best job I can and whatever happens each day, it happens.”

He heaped praise on all his teammates. “These guys have worked hard all season. It’s paying off now. I was home for 73 days.