Ken Griffey, Jr.

It seems kind of strange to keep calling a 38-year-old “Junior,” but oh well. I’m not much younger than that, so I can only hope I keep getting called “son” or “boy” or anything that makes me sound at all childlike.

In that regard, Junior had himself a day Wednesday against the Mariners.

In addition to a 2-for-3 game with two walks, a double, three RBI and three runs scored, he also hit his first home run as a member of the White Sox.

And it wasn’t just his first American League home run in nearly nine years, but it also tied him for fifth all time in the category with a former White Sox and Cubs star, Sammy Sosa.

His solo shot off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey was the 609th of his Hall of Fame career, with only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays ahead of him.

Oh yeah, the Sox won the game too ... and won big.

The 15-3 pounding of Seattle was Chicago’s fifth straight win and kept them a full game up on Minnesota in the A.L. Central race. The Twins are playing just as well right now, so all the current offense the Sox are getting is coming at the perfect time.

And Griffey’s seemed to fit into the lineup perfectly since his arrival. Sure, this was his first home run since the trade from Cincy, but he has a .333 on base percentage for Chicago and the team has won nine of the 13 games he’s played in.

Congratulations, Junior. You’ve done it the right way for 19 years and that earns you some serious MAD LOVE from us today!

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