CNN/SI - Griffey Timeline

Griffey begins a remarkable streak that would see him go yard in eight straight games, matching the record set by Pittsburgh's Dale Long (1956) and tied by the Yankees' Don Mattingly (1987). Griffey pops out against Minnesota's Larry Casian to end the streak, during which he hit more homers (eight) than 11 teams did.

Junior's wife Melissa delivers the couple's first child, Trey Kenneth Griffey. On October 21, 1995, the Griffeys welcome daughter Taryn Kennedy into the clan. Don't hold your breath for a collection of portraits—the private, protective Griffey won't allow shots of him with his family. "'There are crazy people in this world," he says. "That's why I'm not a public person. When I want you to see me is when I'm at the ballpark. That's it."

Griffey makes his motion picture debut, a special appearance in Castle Rock Entertainment's Little Big League. Says director Andy Schienman, "When he is on the screen, your eyes just naturally go to him. He's like Tom Cruise in that sense." Of course, Griffey has a very possible mission on camera—playing himself.

Like any good actor, Griffey won't disappoint an audience. The 6,079,688 votes he receives in All-Star balloting shatters Rod Carew's 1977 mark of 4,292,740. Griffey pleases the crowd by hitting seven homers in the Home Run Derby, five of which sail into the upper deck of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium—an area reached only 11 times in games since 1970.

A strike ends the baseball season and takes Griffey out of the chase for Roger Maris' home run record. Junior finishes with 40 home runs (tops in the A.L.) in 433 at-bats. But Griffey can take solace in what probably wouldn't have been: At the pace he was on, he would have needed 239 official at-bats to break the record of 61—he was unlikely to get that many chances in the 51 remaining games.

Being human appears to be the only weakness in Griffey's game. Another serious injury leads to a subpar season: Griffey breaks his left wrist crashing into the Kingdome wall while making a game-saving catch. Surgeons attach a four-inch metal plate with seven screws to the wrist the next day. After sitting out 73 games Griffey returns on August 15. He finishes the year hitting .258 with just 17 homers and 42 RBI.

Against the Yankees in the Division Series, Griffey scores the winning run from first base in the 11th inning of the fifth and deciding game. But in the ALCS the Mariners bow to Cleveland in six games. Nonetheless, Griffey bats .364 overall, and his six postseason homers tie the record held by Pittsburgh's Bob Robertson (1971) and Philadelphia's Len Dykstra (1993).

Nike debuts a $1.5 million ad campaign that says it all: "Athlete. Family man. Six-time Gold Glove winner. Presidential candidate." Griffey's "candidacy" is supported by luminaries ranging from Reggie Jackson to James Carville. Junior's running mate? The Mariner Moose.

Griffey slams three homers against Toronto, the last of which—off reliever Mike Timlin—is the 250th of his career. He reaches the mark at a younger age (27 years, 155 days) than all but three other players in history—Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Mathews and Mel Ott—despite having missed 205 games because of injuries and work stoppages. The final homer in the trio also brings Griffey to No. 13 in April, breaking the record for homers in the season's first month.

Two days after the All-Star Game, Griffey's mother-in-law dies of congestive heart failure. This deepens a Griffey slump during which he hit only one homer and drove in just 13 runs between June 23 and July 24. Stalled at 32 home runs going into August, it is a slide that may have cost him a shot at Maris' home run record. "I wasn't so much worried about myself, but my wife and my kids," Griffey said. "I struggled, but a lot of people didn't know why."

After a monster 56-homer, 147-RBI campaign, Griffey becomes the 13th player in history to be unanimously selected Most Valuable Player. Junior declares that the trophy will not stand on his father's mantel amid countless other baseball trophies and banners. "This one is going to be in my house," Griffey said. He tacks on his eighth-straight Gold Glove award for good measure.

Instead of Most Valuable, Griffey challenges for Most Vacant Player honors in Seattle's Division Series against Baltimore. Griffey hits safely just twice in 15 at-bats, driving in two runs. The O's cruise to a 3-1 series win, sending Junior home early.

Before a Kingdome-record crowd of 57,822, Griffey opens the home run chase with a third-deck solo shot off Cleveland ace Charles Nagy. It is Junior's sixth Opening Day homer. However, the Mariners blow a 9-6 lead entering the eighth and fall 10-9.

The All-Star ballots are in, and for the third straight year Griffey draws more votes than anyone else—more than four million this time around. He shows his appreciation in front of a hometown crowd by bashing his 33rd homer of the year off the right-field pole during a 6-4 loss to Colorado.

After being razzed by fans during batting practice, Griffey reverses his decision not to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby. And then he goes out and wins the event, beating the Indians' Jim Thome 3-2 in the final round. "I don't like to get booed," says Griffey, the leading vote-getter in fan balloting. "There were 4 million reasons why I did it."

Griffey breaks out of a 12-game, 54-at-bat homerless streak with an opposite-field, two-run shot against the White Sox's Jaime Navarro in a 13-7 Seattle win. It's No. 42 of the season.

Griffey hits his fourth and fifth homers in the past eight days—giving him 47 on the year—in a 13-3 rout of the Yankees. More notable: In the fifth inning, a fan runs to Griffey's spot in center field with a football, which Griffey obligingly autographs. But security comes out to tackle the man, and later takes away his souvenir.

Text by Brian Hamilton
Photos by (top to bottom) Chuck Solomon, George Tiedemann, Richard Mackson, Brad Mangin

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