Griffey Back In Pursuit Of Maris’ Mark Dry Spell In June, July Left Him With Longshot At 61 Home Runs

By starting September with a bang - two big bangs - in his home ballpark, Ken Griffey Jr. is back chasing Roger Maris’ home run record again.

He’s a longshot, to be sure. But with a major league-leading 46 homers with 24 games left, he is on a pace for 56 and that leaves him with a chance, however slim, at Maris.

“If he breaks the record now, we would be sitting pretty good,” said general manager Woody Woodward, thinking of the Seattle Mariners’ race in the A.L. West.

In the Mariners’ next-to-last interleague game of the season, Griffey homered in his first two at-bats against San Diego’s Joey Hamilton in a 9-6 victory that helped the Mariners take a two-game lead over Anaheim.

“He’s battling Tino Martinez for the league’s MVP, and if he does that for the rest of the season or something close to that, I think he’ll win it,” said left-hander Jeff Fassero, who got his 14th win Monday night.

“When Junior is swinging his bat the way he is right now, it makes everyone’s job a lot easier,” All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez said. “It’s a lot of fun for us to watch him, just like it is for you guys.”

Griffey has everyone on his side - not just Nike and the Mariners’ front office - in his effort to surpass Maris’ mark of 61 set in 1961 for the New York Yankees.

The eight-time All-Star doesn’t like to talk about himself, and he won’t talk about Maris’ record and home runs. The fans love his magnetic smile and personality. He’s been the leading vote getter in the All-Star Game three times.

Griffey began this season on a home run tear, hitting 13 in April and 11 in May. Then he had five in June and three in July. He got his swing back in August with a dozen.

And he doesn’t hit home runs just in the cozy Kingdome. Twenty-two of his 46 homers have been on the road.

In his last 27 games, he’s hitting .385 (40-for-104) with 13 homers and 24 RBIs. For the first time in three seasons, he’s been healthy.

He’s hitting the ball all over the park now, too. His first home run Monday was to left and his second was a 441-foot shot to right-center.

“When he hits the ball to left field like that out of the ballpark, you know his swing is where it needs to be,” teammate Dan Wilson said.