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Age of Innocence
Dan Patrick
June 09, 2008
CONGRATS TO Kenxs Griffey Jr.—not just for nearing the 600 home run milestone, but for doing things right. My thought about Griffey is the same one I have about Greg Maddux, who got his 350th win a few weeks ago: This is how athletes are supposed to age. They get dinged up, they lose some stuff, but they keep at it. Those two are the flip side of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Griffey's lengthy stays on the DL look like badges of honor now, given what we've learned about how others have used steroids to speed recovery. People once thought Griffey, 38, would be the one to pass Hank Aaron's home run mark. He won't, but whom do you feel better about, the guy who got the record or the guy who didn't?
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June 09, 2008

Age Of Innocence

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CONGRATS TO Kenxs Griffey Jr.—not just for nearing the 600 home run milestone, but for doing things right. My thought about Griffey is the same one I have about Greg Maddux, who got his 350th win a few weeks ago: This is how athletes are supposed to age. They get dinged up, they lose some stuff, but they keep at it. Those two are the flip side of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Griffey's lengthy stays on the DL look like badges of honor now, given what we've learned about how others have used steroids to speed recovery. People once thought Griffey, 38, would be the one to pass Hank Aaron's home run mark. He won't, but whom do you feel better about, the guy who got the record or the guy who didn't?

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