The best (and worst) of times

By Hal McCoy

Dayton Daily News

Life's Memorable Moments and Life's Embarrassing Moments are part of the baseball panorama, and major-league players are quick to talk about both.

And many times they aren't what you think.

For Ken Griffey Jr., his career highlight isn't his 500th home run or any other personal accomplishment. It involves family, his father, Ken Griffey Sr.

Junior and Senior played together in the same Seattle Mariners outfield in 1990, the only father-son combination ever to play in the same major-league game. Even that isn't Griffey's fondest memory.

"We both hit a home run in the same game," said Junior. "Neither one of us knew what to say. The next inning, with him in left field and me in center field, we just looked at each other and burst out laughing."

Facing Mr. October

Reds bullpen pitching coach Tom Hume's fondest memory is his first spring training in 1977, facing Reggie Jackson.

"I struck him out in Fort Lauderdale and it was special because he always was my baseball hero," Hume said.

His most embarrassing incident was the same year: "My major-league pitching debut in San Francisco. My mother and brother flew from Tampa to San Francisco to see it. I lasted one-third of an inning and gave up five runs. They flew across the country to see me pitch one-third of an inning."

In the dirt

Catcher Jason LaRue calls his best of times the day he picked up the telephone ... and found out the Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the fifth round of the 1995 draft.

"I was expecting to be drafted, but you can expect something and it might not happen," he said. "Once the call came, I knew it was for real and it was the happiest day of my life."

The worst day of his baseball life, "and that's an easy one," came two years ago when LaRue tried to catch Jared Fernandez's knuckleball.

"He had a really good knuckler working that day and I missed like seven pitches in a row," said LaRue. "I was just praying it would hit me so I could stop it, but it missed me every time."

Bashing (into) Barry

Rich Aurilia was quick on the trigger with both answers, his best day coming in the National League playoffs in 2002 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I hit two home runs off Woody Williams and they were so identical that they almost hit the same chair in the stands," he said. "The same fan probably got both baseballs."

His worst moment was when he injured San Francisco teammate Barry Bonds in Denver.

"Last game of the season, I was just called up," he said. "There was a pop foul down the left-field line and I gave chase. Barry and I ran into each other full-speed.

"I took five stitches in my head and he took 10 stitches under his chin and cut his lip. All I could think was, 'My gosh, I've just killed the best player in the game,' " Aurilia added. "Fortunately, it was the last game of the season and I didn't knock him out of any games."

Playing in pinstripes

Pitcher David Weathers, who has been with nine teams and owns more than a pocketful of memories, quickly said, "My best memory is Game 6 of the 1996 World Series for the New York Yankees. I only faced two hitters — I struck out Atlanta's Javy Lopez, then walked Andruw Jones and was taken out. But it was the deciding game and we won and I participated."

At least Weathers didn't fall on his face. That was later.

"I was on the mound and it was raining pretty good," he said. "I tried to spin and pick a runner off second base. I slipped and fell face-first into the mud. I came up with my uniform front covered with mud. I probably still could have picked the guy off second base because he was doubled over in laughter, like everybody else."

Big game

Closer Danny Graves remembers the 1999 one-game playoff with the New York Mets as the best of times and the worst of times. The Reds and Mets were tied for the National League wild card and had a one-game playoff to determine the wild-card representative.

The Mets won, "But that was the most fun I had in baseball," Graves said. "I got to pitch three innings in front of a full stadium in a playoff atmosphere in a game that really meant something, the closet we've been since I've been here to making the postseason."

Of life's embarrassing moments, Graves said, "Any time I give it up (blow a save), but that's often and I don't really get embarrassed by anything. It happens too often."

And, oh, in case you wonder about Griffey's most embarrassing moment, Adam Dunn furnished the answer: "Every time he shows that ugly head inside our clubhouse."