Griffey hits No. 600 against Marlins

MIAMI — Ken Griffey Jr. insisted he never dreamed of joining baseball's ultimate group of power hitters when he reached the majors 19 years ago.\n"My father hit 152 home runs, and that's who I wanted to be like," said Griffey, who hit his 600th career homer Monday night to join Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the only players to do so.\nGriffey connected off Mark Hendrickson in the first inning of the Cincinatti Reds' 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins. The 38-year-old slugger hit a 3-1 pitch 413 feet into the right-field seats with Jerry Hairston on third and one out.\n"I was just trying to get a pitch I could hit and be as patient as possible," Griffey said. "And I was fortunate enough to get a curveball I could drive."\nGriffey started the season with 593 home runs despite numerous injuries in recent years — enough to make a lot of people wonder how many homers he could have had if he had stayed relatively healthy.\n"No, I don't think about that," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I appreciate where he is right now."\nIn the other NL games Monday, It was: Pittsburgh 5, Arizona 3 and San Francisco 3, Washington 2.\nPaul Bako had his first career multihomer game — three-run and two-run shots — and Brandon Phillips added a solo homer in support of Edinson Volquez (9-2).\nGriffey ended the game 1-for-4 with a strikeout and an intentional walk. He exited in the middle of the eighth.\nVolquez gave up three runs, three hits, five walks and struck out five in six innings.\nHairston left the game in the middle of the first after suffering a fractured left thumb when stealing second.\nHendrickson (7-4) allowed six runs — five earned — and five hits in 2 1-3 innings. Mike Jacobs homered for the Marlins.\nBut the night belonged to Griffey.\n"We saw 400 the other day with (Atlanta's) Chipper (Jones) and 600 today," Marlins left fielder Luis Gonzalez said. "It's not the side you want to be on."\nBaker said Griffey told him on Sunday he would hit No. 600. Hairston said the slugger told him the same thing before Monday night's game.\n"I say a lot things," Griffey, said with a smile.\nIn the last year of his contract with Cincinnati, Griffey sounded like someone who isn't thinking of retirement yet.\n"I enjoy baseball and as long as I can go out there and help a team win I'll do it," he said.\nGriffey, whose previous homer came May 31, wasn't surprised No. 600 happened away from home.\n"Pretty much everybody knows my track record," said Griffey, who hit his 400th and 500th home runs on the road, too.\nAmong those in the dugout who greeted the slugger after his historic home run was Griffey's 14-year-old son, Trey.\n"As a father, I'm more excited about what he does than what I do," Griffey said.\nFor people skeptical of that nonchalant attitude, Griffey explained he got it from his father, who played 19 seasons in the majors. Father and son were teammates in Seattle for two seasons.\n"He just told me as a kid, 'Don't get to high, don't get too low — just be yourself,'" Griffey said. "I think that's the one thing I take pride of."\nNow, he also can take pride in having 448 more home runs than Ken Sr.