KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Ken Griffey Jr. spent a good part of his childhood in Cincinnati, played there for nine more years. It’s the place he raised his children, where he’s made numerous friends, still has family.
Cincinnati is home.
Yet when he was asked to leave, Griffey needed just a few hours to decide. The chance to play in a pennant race, to potentially win his first World Series ring was enough for the slugger to agree to a trade to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
was the biggest draw.”
Griffey was traded with cash to the AL East-leading White Sox, with reliever Nick Masset and Triple-A second baseman Danny Richar going to the Reds.
Though he’s struggled this season – .245, 15 homers, 53 RBIs in one of baseball’s most homer-friendly ballparks – Griffey believes he still has something left. He departed Cincinnati on a 12-game hitting streak, going 14-for-44 with three homers and nine RBIs, and has 608 career homers, leaving him one behind Sammy Sosa for fifth on the all-time list.
“There’s things that I can do to help this ballclub,” he said. “Having a manager (Ozzie Guillen) who didn’t very many home runs, he’s very keen on making sure you get the runner over and knock him in, and that’s the key to winning ball games. I’ve been around for a little while, so I understand the game.”
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