Bat takes a likin' to Griffey

[missionhockey21]

Bat takes a likin' to Griffey
Reds notebook

By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

Ken Griffey Jr. was in the cage for a half an hour spraying balls into the outfield seats.

It's typical of Griffey. He'll take batting practice early as much as anyone on the team - whether he's going good or bad.

It goes back to his early days in Seattle.

"I was 19," he said. "You can't go out and go to clubs. All I could do is be a baseball player."

Griffey will go on until he runs out of batting practice pitchers or time.

"I like to hit," he said.

Griffey doubled in the first inning Monday night to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a Red this season and Griffey's longest as a Red.

Griffey was hitting .313 with three home runs and 11 RBI over his last 12 games going into Monday.

But hitting coach Chris Chambliss thinks that's just a hint of things to come.

"He's having better at-bats," Chambliss said. "He's getting more comfortable."

The widely held notion that Griffey doesn't work at his game still rankles him.

"I've got a batting cage in my house," he said. "I've got a weight room."

He says he never tried to add much size to his frame because of the position he plays.

"If you look at the big players, they're right or left fielders," he said. "I just tried to maintain because I was playing center. I always thought I'd be like my dad.

"I didn't think I'd hit 30, 40 or 50 home runs. Even when it happened, I still tried to do the same thing: Get my hits and let the home runs come."

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[volzok]

Good article. Few things I want to comment on:

"I didn't think I'd hit 30, 40 or 50 home runs. Even when it happened, I still tried to do the same thing: Get my hits and let the home runs come."

He has really been hitting the ball well lately. This comment is so true to him. We he is hitting well, he hits to all fields and then the balls start clearing the fence. I really am looking forward to what Griff can bring to the table the next few weeks. I think he is about to give the offense a big boost in the arm. Hopefully someone else can step it up with him.

"With Jason, it's positioning," Chambliss said. "He's working against his body. He's not using his hand speed. I think you're going to start to see better results."

LaRue always starts the season off slow. I am not concerned.

"The one thing that stands out is he's more confident," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "You've got to tip your hat to him. He didn't play much (early), but he worked hard. It's obviously paid dividends."

I dont even think I have to comment on this one. Play him. It is interesting to see him say hes more confident since FeLo has always carried that cockiness about him.

[NFLman2033]

I have been pretty happy with Griffey to this point, if he gets hits and drives in runs i am not worried about the HR's