Tuesday's All-Star Game in Seattle could have been a milestone event for Ken Griffey Jr., who would have returned to the city where he established his baseball greatness. Yet the Reds center fielder, who was neither voted to the National League squad nor added to it Wednesday, didn't bellyache about his rare absence from the elite.

        “The fans do the voting. The guys who are going deserve to go,” said Griffey, who finished fifth in the outfield voting despite not starting a game until June 15. “I look at the years they're having. Things might have been different if I was playing (all season). I'm thankful that the people who voted for me did.”

        Griffey, sidelined for much of the season with a partial tear in his left hamstring, was reminded that he politely refused to answer a reporter's questions in spring training about participating in the All-Star home run contest. Griffey said then he didn't want to jinx himself.

        “I never assume,” Griffey said Wednesday after his streak of 11 consecutive All-Star trips was broken. “I don't take anything for granted.”

        So for the first time since his 1989 rookie season, Griffey will return to his Orlando, Fla., home during the All-Star break to engage in what he called “a 65-hour kid thing.” He plans to take his children to Universal Studios, Dr. Dolittle 2 and perhaps Disney World.

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