Ken Griffey Jr.watches his first Reds homer clear the yard. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        It was a classic home run shot, a high, arching no-doubter. By the time the ball landed in the right-field green seats, the crowd of 37,798 at Cinergy Field was roaring.

        The cheers grew louder as Ken Griffey Jr. circled the bases after his first home run as a Red. When Griffey went into the dugout, the fans demanded he come back out. He did, tipping his hat.

        “I don't take many curtain calls,” he said. “But I looked in the on-deck circle and Dmitri (Young) was like, "Get out there.' It was nice.”

        It was an all-around eventful day for Griffey. He threw out a runner at the plate in the eighth. And he scored the tying run in the 11th inning of the Reds' 8-7 comeback win over the Chicago Cubs.

        The win, he said, was what made him happiest.

        “That's what I play baseball for,” he said. “I want to win games. I don't want it to be Junior and the Reds. I want to be one of 25 guys.”

Junior hugs his dad on the dugout steps after his first Reds HR. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        But when you're the Player of the Decade, when you're the youngest member of the All-Century Team, when you sign for $118 million, it's hard to hide from the spotlight. And the spotlight was turned up a bit when Griffey was traded from the Seattle Mariners to his hometown team.

        So the home run, which was the 399th of Griffey's career, was probably the most anticipated one.

        The expectations of him coming home were great, and then he struggled in his first week as a Red, causing a minor panic.

        “It was bound to come,” he said. “(The media) were acting like 20 at-bats and I'm over the hill. I turn on the TV and that's all I hear.”

Griffey makes a curtain call. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

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        Griffey's big day came the day a column appeared in The Enquirer revealing that he was trying to get back his old number, 24. No.24 is Tony Perez's, and it is scheduled to be retired in May. (Story)

        “I'm not going to say any thing about that,” Griffey said.

        Griffey's homer came off Scott Downs, who was making his major-league debut, in the sixth inning. The two-run shot lifted the Reds off the mat after they fell behind 6-0.

        The secret to his first one as a Red?

        “I finally swung at a strike,” Griffey said.

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