Junior Achievement

It was three hours before last Friday's game at Cinergy Field, and the Cincinnati Reds' clubhouse was slowly emptying. Players headed for the field to stretch and begin batting practice, while a scrum of media types clustered around Ken Griffey Jr.'s locker. Dressed in street clothes, Griffey gathered his things and made it clear that the questioning would have to end soon because he too was headed out the door. A teammate ambled by, his path blocked by the crowd, and tossed a barb at Griffey. It was righthander Jose Rijo, the Methuselah of the Reds' clubhouse, who is back in the rotation after a six-year absence from the major leagues while he rehabbed his ravaged pitching elbow. "Don't tell me you're announcing your retirement today," Rijo said.

"All I want is five years off like you had," Griffey shot back, flashing the megawatt grin that was once his trademark. In fact, the 32-year-old centerfielder probably feels as if he's already matched the well-rested Rijo in downtime. The reporters weren't asking him about his swing or the fact that the Reds were in first place in the National League Central. Instead they inquired about the injured right knee that had kept him on the disabled list since April 8 and about how soon he might return. The patellar tendon he tore while rounding third base against the Montreal Expos was nearly healed, he said, and he might be able to play the following weekend in St. Louis.

The plan is for Griffey to return to the lineup full time instead of easing back in as a pinch hitter or spot starter. There's no reason to rush him, because Cincinnati is not the same team that blanched when he went down six games into the season. The 11-time All-Star is in the unaccustomed position of needing a lineup more than it needs him. At week's end the Reds, who had been picked by most observers to be at or near the bottom of their division, were 21-15, 2� games up on the equally surprising second-place Pittsburgh Pirates. In Griffey's absence a kiddie-corps outfield- Austin Kearns, 22, in right; Juan Encarnacion, 26, in center; and Adam Dunn, 22, in left—has been the most productive in the league (chart, page 49). The Reds have also developed a harmonious clubhouse atmosphere.

"We have one of the best bullpens in the league, we have depth, we have the enthusiasm of a lot of young guys, and we have the best team chemistry I've seen here," says general manager Jim Bowden. "When Junior returns, he'll make us even better."

Not according to some Cincinnati fans. Last week TV station WKRC created the latest tempest in the stormy 29 months since Griffey's trade from the Seattle Mariners to his hometown team (box, page 48). The station conducted a call-in poll in which 74% of the 800 voters said that Griffey, and not one of his replacements, should be the one to sit when he comes off the DL. Dunn received 12% of the vote, and Encarnacion and Kearns 7% each. Griffey lashed out at the respondents: "I came here to play baseball. I took less money. I didn't whine or anything. And this is the thanks I get?" Though he made conciliatory statements a few days later, he had fueled the fire.

As the incident played out, Griffey's teammates rallied around him. While he hasn't accompanied the team on the road and usually doesn't sit in the dugout during home games, he has been integral to the team's bonding. Last week he had Kearns and Dunn, along with veteran shortstop Barry Larkin, over for dinner. "I was like, Man, I'm going to Ken Griffey's house," Kearns says. "There aren't many guys in the superstar category who would invite a 21-year-old guy over to his place. It shows you what kind of person he is." On April 30, when Kearns was hit in the face with a pitch from Los Angeles Dodgers righthander Giovanni Carrara, Griffey called the rookie to make sure he was O.K.

The thought that Griffey might not reclaim his starting spot is laughable, but the fact that the question even comes up indicates just how well the team has been playing without him, particularly in the outfield. Encarnacion, acquired from the Detroit Tigers in an off-season trade for outfielder Dmitri Young, shifted from right to center after Griffey was injured and has performed the way the Tigers had expected when he was one of their top prospects three years ago. Encarnacion's lack of discipline at the plate frustrated Detroit, and even this season he had 30 strikeouts in 145 at bats through Sunday. But he also had a .290 average, a team-leading nine homers, 25 RBIs and seven stolen bases.

After a slow start Dunn has picked up where he left off as a rookie last season, when he bashed 19 home runs in 66 games; at week's end he had eight dingers and led the team with 28 RBIs. At 6'6" and 240 pounds, the former Texas quarterback has also added swagger to the lineup. On May 8, when Kearns was knocked down by Milwaukee Brewers righthander Brian Mallette, Dunn, who was on deck, took several steps toward the mound to protest before Kearns had even dusted himself off.

The biggest splash, though, has been made by Kearns—it's his emergence that has made Griffey's return to the lineup more of a brainteaser for manager Bob Boone than anyone thought it would be. Kearns was summoned from Double A Chattanooga on April 17 because first baseman Sean Casey needed a few days off after being hit in the head by a pitch. It was to be merely a chance for the organization's top prospect ( Kearns was a first-round pick in 1998) to get his feet wet in the big leagues before returning to the farm. "If you saw him in spring training taking BP with Encarnacion and [reserve outfielder Ruben] Mateo, you might have thought he wasn't ready," says Boone. "Those guys were whacking balls all over the place. Austin was just working on his stroke."

He seems to have perfected it, batting .385 and knocking in 11 runs in his first 21 games while leading NL rookies with four homers and a .512 on-base percentage. "He's the most professional hitter I've got," says Boone. "He hits the fastball, he hits the breaking ball, and he has a good at bat every time up. There's nothing he has to work on."