Griffey began his career in Seattle in 1989. He was the Mariners center fielder until 1999 when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. After eight and a half years with the Reds, Griffey went back to Seattle for the 2009 campaign.

In his return, Griffey hit .214 with 19 homers, 57 RBIs and 44 runs. He also drew 63 walks and had an on-base percentage of .324. Although those numbers are a far cry from his heyday, the now 39-year-old was a hit with his teammates and got credit for helping the Mariners improve chemistry on and off the field.

In 2010, Griffey is expected to play DH and likely hit in the middle of the lineup again. If he can keep fans interested and provide a little bit of pop, the Mariners will be happy with their investment.

Ken Griffey Jr. - Seattle Mariners (Image: Zuma Press)

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This year, the 32-year-old native of Venezuela hasn’t been hitting the ball too well for the Reds. He has a .210 batting average, a .258 on-base percentage, three homers, 16 runs and 26 RBIs. In 2006 with the Red Sox, he had a .255 batting average to go along with nine homers, 48 runs and 50 RBIs.

The Red Sox needed a shortstop after putting Jed Lowrie on the DL last week. Having already traded away Julio Lugo, the Red Sox had been starting Nick Green at shortstop. Gonzalez will likely step right in and get plenty of opportunities — especially while Lowrie is on the disabled list.

The Reds received Kris Negron, a minor league infielder who has 20 stolen bases to go along with a .264 batting average.

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The Reds were forced to put both Micah Owings and Chris Dickerson on the injured list. Both players got hurt during Sunday’s contest against the Chicago Cubs.

Owings, a starting pitcher for the Reds, exited due to a stiff shoulder. On the season, the 26-year-old is 6-11 with a 5.35 ERA and a WHIP of 1.64.

Dickerson got hurt in the outfield when attempting to make a diving grab. The outfielder is hitting .259 with two homers, 13 RBIs, 27 runs and eight stolen bases.

To replace Owings and Dickerson, the Reds recalled Robert Manuel and Drew Sutton. Manuel is a right-handed pitcher and Sutton is a infielder. Both players have limited big league experience this season.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks have watched the Los Angeles Dodgers acquire a couple of big name talents, including Manny Ramirez. Now the D’Backs have made their move by trading three minor leaguers to the Cincinnati Reds for slugger Adam Dunn.

Currently, Arizona only leads the Dodgers by 1.5 games in the National League West. The team’s bats, which were blazing earlier in the season, have cooled off considerably as of late. The infusion of Adam Dunn into the lineup should help tremendously.

Dunn is tied for the lead in home runs in the major leagues. His 32 homers are as many as Ryan Howard and Carlos Quentin have on the season. In addition to his home runs, Dunn is .233 with 74 RBIs. While the batting average isn’t impressive, he does walk a lot and as a result has a .373 on-base percentage. The 28-year-old Dunn will likely bat fourth or fifth in the lineup and play in the outfield for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Earlier in the season, Dunn was criticized by JP Ricciardi during a radio show. Ricciardi, who is the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, said that Dunn didn’t even like the game of baseball. After Dunn responded to the comments, Ricciardi offered a full apology.

The minor leaguers the Reds will get in return for Adam Dunn are Dallas Buck and two minor leaguers to be named later.

Photo: Newscom

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Lee, who was leading the National League with 100 RBIs, got hit by a pitch from Cincinnati Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. After immediately leaving the game, Lee had an X-Ray that revealed his left pinky is broken and that the injury will require surgery.

At 58-59, the Astros are a long shot to see postseason play. Coming into the season, some prognosticators said the Astros would make the playoffs. Now with Lee out for the season, those hopes seem all but closed.

On the season, Lee was batting .314 and had 28 home runs to go with his NL leading 100 RBIs.

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NL MVP – Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
Sure, the Astros are a bad team and chances are slim that they will make the playoffs. That said, Berkman is having a career year and is the best hitter in the NL to date this season.

AL Cy Young – Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
Mariano Rivera might be having his best season in his career but Lee has been amazing. His 12-2 record is very impressive, as is his 2.31 ERA. Lee was nothing special until this year but now the Cleveland ace is making a name for himself.

NL Cy Young – Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
Josh Hamilton is playing amazing baseball for the Texas Rangers, however the Reds have to be happy with their offseason move. The Reds got Volquez from the Rangers and he has consistently been the best pitcher in the NL this season.

AL Rookie of the Year – Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
One day soon, Evan Longoria might become more famous than Eva Longoria. He’s the clear cut rookie of the year in the AL — and it’s not even close. He has exceeded all the hype he had coming into the season.

NL Rookie of the Year – Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
A lot of players on the Cubs are getting notoriety this season but one can argue that Soto is the most valuable player on Chicago’s roster. He has stepped in as a rookie and is playing great baseball.

Is Geovany Soto the best player on the Cubs?

Photo: Newscom

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Hamilton’s baseball journey started when he was the first overall pick of the 1999 baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In 2001, Hamilton was in a car accident and at that point started experimenting with drugs. He played sparingly in 2001 due to injuries and drug use. Between 2002 and 2006, Hamilton didn’t play baseball at all. He failed numerous drug tests and had many failed stints in rehab.

In 2006, Hamilton started getting his life back in order and started playing baseball again. He finally made it to the big leagues in 2007 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. However, during the offseason, Hamilton was traded to the Texas Rangers.

In 2008, Hamilton has been tremendous. He’s leading the American League in homers (19) and RBIs (76), while posting a .312 batting average. Hamilton is now clean, sober and playing the best baseball of his life. He’s truly the ultimate feel good story in baseball this season. And if he keeps it up, he could cap off his story with an AL MVP award.

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is proving there is hope for everyone.

Photo: Newscom

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Said Ricciardi: “Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player? There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here.”

Dunn was obviously not too happy when told about the remarks.

Said Dunn: “I know nothing about this clown. I have no idea who he is. I don’t really care what one guy thinks, to be honest with you. If I’m a GM, I don’t know if I would go out of my way to kind of discredit a player. It pisses me off to be honest with you. He doesn’t even know me. If he knew me, fine, say what you want. This guy doesn’t know anything about me other than what he sees on whatever SportsCenter they have up there. That’s it.”

Eventually, Ricciardi apologized for his remarks.

“I apologize to him. I have to be better than that,” said Ricciardi. “Unfortunately, you get caught in the heat of the moment. I don’t even know Adam Dunn.”

The right way for this saga to end would be the Blue Jays trading for Dunn and Dunn before a Canadian hero. We’ll see if Ricciardi makes the right move.

“What Ricciardi Just Call Me?!?!”

Photo: Newscom

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After the contest, which the Cardinals topped the Cincinnati Reds 7-2, Pujols was diagnosed with a strain calf. Further tests will be performed to determine how long Pujols will be out. Initial reports indicate that St. Louis fears that Pujols will miss a significant amount of games.

Pujols is currently hitting .347 and has 16 homers and 42 RBIs. It’d be a shame if the 28-year-old slugger were to miss a lot of action because he was on pace to have one of the best seasons of his career.

When Pujols is out, the Cardinals will rely on Ryan Ludwick to keep swinging the bat well. The 29-year-old Ludwick has 15 homers, 50 RBIs and is hitting .318.

The Cardinals weren’t expected to have a good season but at 39-27, St. Louis definitely has a chance to make the postseason. That is, obviously, if Pujols can return in a reasonable amount of time.

Photo: Newscom

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Griffey’s long ball came off of Mark Hendrickson in the first inning. The Cincinnati Reds went on to beat the Florida Marlins 9-4. On the season, Griffey is now batting .260 with seven homers and 29 RBI.

Here is a video of Griffey’s historic number 600:

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