By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For a few moments, Junior did not realize the significance of the feat. Senior, of course, did.
"After I hit mine, I went over and sat next to him in the dugout," Ken Griffey Jr. said. "He said, 'Do you know what we just did?' Then he gave me a hug."
It was home run No. 36 on Griffey's list of 500. But it is easily his favorite because it came right after his father, Ken Sr., had hit one.
"It was an unbelievable feeling," Ken Sr. said.
It took an extraordinary confluence of events for it to happen.
"It's so rare just to have a father and son playing at the same time," said Brian Goldberg, agent for both Griffeys. "You have to have a father who has a long career. You have to have a son who makes it to the majors early. Then they have to actually play together and hit back-to-back home runs."
You had all of that.
Ken Sr. played for 19 years.
He and Ken Jr. became the first father and son to play in the big leagues at the same time when Ken Jr. shocked everybody and made the Seattle Mariners as an 18-year-old non-roster player in 1989.
The two became teammates when the Reds traded Ken Sr. to the Mariners in the middle of the 1990 season.
They started together for the first time Aug. 31, 1990.
Hitting back-to-back homers wasn't talked about, but both were thinking about it.
Senior had gone deep about a week before. Junior tried to follow it.
"I think he tried too hard," Senior said.
The second chance came Sept. 14. The Mariners were playing the then-California Angels in Anaheim. Kirk McCaskill was pitching.
Harold Reynolds, now an ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst, was then the Mariners' second baseman and leadoff man. He got on base to start the game.
Senior followed with a shot to straightaway center.
"He touched the plate and said, 'Son, that's how it's done,' " Ken Jr. said.
Ken Sr. had a feeling this was going to be the night.
"When I came around third, I saw that look in his eye," Ken Sr. said, "that determination. I felt he was going to do it. That's exactly what he did."
Junior took three balls from McCaskill.
"They gave me the green light," Junior said. "I swung, and it went out."
It was also to center - just like his old man's.
"I think he was just happy to hit a home run," Ken. Sr. said. "He was 19 years old. He didn't realize what we had done."
Goldberg was in the stands.
"It was awesome," he said. "People ask me my favorite baseball memory - that's it."
Four hundred sixty-four home runs later, it remains Junior's favorite, as well.
"That's the one that really sticks out," Junior said.
E-mail jfay@enquirer.com
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