ark McGwire got most of the oohs and aahs with his show-stopping performance in the first round of last night's All-Star Home Run Derby at Fenway Park. But Ken Griffey left with the hardware.
The Seattle Mariners star won the contest for the second consecutive year by edging Jeromy Burnitz of the Milwaukee Brewers in the final round, three homers to two. With two outs remaining in the round, Junior had no homers. He then calmly launched two dingers to right field and, after a brief distraction, sent one into the right-center-field seats to end the evening.
''It's just about going out there having a lot of fun,'' said Griffey, who won at Coors Field in Denver last year and has 29 homers at the All-Star break. ''That's the main thing - going out there putting on a show for the fans. Watching Mark hit 'em 500 feet when you're just barely getting them over 420, 430. And his balls are doing their postal service, just flying by you and dropping mail off at your house.
''It doesn't matter how many you hit; the distance is the most important thing. Nobody remembers if you hit 20 and they all go 330 to 400; but you hit one 450 to 510, that's impressive.''
The always humble Griffey, battling a sore knee for the past three weeks, decided at the last moment to defend his title. He hit a very un-Junior-like three homers in the first round, giving him the lowest total of the four participants who advanced to Round 2. (McGwire had a record 13.) But anyone in the ballpark with an ounce of sense knew that The Kid was not going to go out like that. This is the same guy who quietly led the American League with 56 homers last year and hit home runs in eight consecutive games a few years back. All he needed was to get in a groove. And when he did, it was lights out.
McGwire hit only three homers and Jeff Bagwell one in the second round, but Junior kept the show going by leaving the yard 10 times, including a 460-foot trip. He's got the sweetest swing in baseball, and it was at its best as he sent a barrage of towering moonshots to the appreciative fans in right and center field.
Not even a crazed fan could disturb his rhythm. After he hit two in a row to tie Burnitz, a fan - a Milwaukee fan, maybe? - rushed on to the field to shake his hand. Junior obliged, and after security escorted the intruder off the field, Griffey sent another one out to finish the contest with 16.
''I pretty much knew I was going to lose,'' said Burnitz, who finished the night with 14 homers, including six in each of the first two rounds. ''You're talking about guys who can do it at will. [Griffey] had to, and he did it. And he does that quite often.''
