As a baseball fan, and primarily, a Seattle Mariners fan, I go back to the days when the Mariners' highest attendance occured at a "funny nose and glasses" promo, inspired by outfielder Tom Paciorek, where Groucho Marx glasses were handed out to everyone in attendance. The M's were less than a laughinstock; an SI story detailed hotel booking complications where the desk clerk couldn't even pronounce the team name right.

Ken Griffey Junior changed all that, along with a stellar supporting class that included one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of the game (Omar Vizquel), the best designated hitter ever (Edgar Martinez), 1986 Rookie of the Year (Alvin Davis) and two key trades, one with the Yankees, where an over the hill Ken Phelps was traded for an up and coming right handed power hitter named Jay Buhner, and the franchise's ace pitcher was traded to the Montreal Expos for a hard throwing pitcher with questionable control (Randy Johnson), a trade M's fans would not be long in forgiving (by 1991, when RJ threw his first no hitter, Mark Langston, the ace in question, had his best years behind him).

But "Junior" was definitely the team's star, the reason the team began to find legitimacy in the sporting world. When his father, a longtime  player back to the days of the Big Red Machine, joined him on the field in 1990 (a game I am proud to say I attended), they were the first father and son ever to suit up in the same game as players. Griffey, Sr. was playing out his years, and Griffey, Jr. was beginning a roller coaster career that would see him switch uniforms to his hometown Reds, and to hit, up to today's count, more homeruns than all but 11 other people in Major League History. Injuries sidelined him for several years, but in 2005, he was the deserving winner of the National League's Comeback Player of the Year award for his return to form.

So it was with some disappointment to see that, while ESPN noted his 537th career homer, passing no less than Mickey Mantle for 12th on the all time list, he didn't make their top ten plays of the day. Griffey's achievement is especially notable because, as most of the other power hitters of the game have had their names sullied with accusations of steroid use, his name has never been bandied about on that list. While this is no more proof of his innocence than the accusations of others are proof of their guilt, it would certainly seem that in a climate where book deals are being handed out to anyone willing to name names, the failure of a single one of Griffey's ex-teammates to take the bait would be unusual if there were anything to offer. Even in Jose Canseco's book "Juiced", where Canseco was more than willing to speculate on other players (notably Bret Boone), his mention of Griffey Jr. did not mention even a suspicion of steroid use, but seemed little more than a gratuitous entry designed to make his name pop out in the index.

While ESPN saw fit to cover Jimmy Rollins' 38th straight game with a hit, even though he is still far short of the record he is pursuing, they overlooked Griffey's achievement in their top ten plays of the day. And while Rollins will deserve his due if he ever breaks DiMaggio's vaunted record, that should be noted when he actually achieves it, not while he is still more than two weeks away. Sportcenter's editors erred, in my opinion, by not giving proper credit to Griffey's long ball.