ST. LOUIS - Ken Griffey Jr. trotted around the bases as if it were just another home run. It was anything but that.
Griffey hit a 2-and-2 fastball from Matt Morris into the rightfield stands to lead off the sixth inning Sunday, securing a spot in the record books as the 20th player with 500 homers.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever accomplish this," Griffey said. "All the aches and pains I've had this year were gone for like two minutes. It was awesome."
The star centerfielder ended a frustrating stretch with the swing, which helped the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 6-0. At 34, he became the sixth-youngest player to reach the milestone.
Griffey, stuck on No. 499 for a week, took a few extra seconds to watch his drive fly into the seats, then dropped his bat and slowly trotted around the bases with his 19th homer of the season.
"I'm sure he's relieved," manager Dave Miley said. "I'm sure he's happy to get it over with."
The base coaches simply shook Griffey's hand as he passed by. All of his teammates came out on the field to congratulate him after the historic shot.
"I just told him, "About time,' " Barry Larkin said. "That's all."
Griffey then went to a box next to the Reds' dugout and hugged his father, Ken Griffey, and children. The elder Griffey said Junior told him, simply, "Happy Father's Day."
Ken Griffey Sr. said, though, that his son won't get off that easily.
"It was a nice Father's Day present, but it's an easy way to get out of giving me something," Griffey Sr. said. "He used to do that for me for my birthday all the time.
"He's got to get something else now."
Griffey jokingly said he gets his dad the same thing every Father's Day. "Old Spice and underwear," he said.
The ball was caught by 19-year-old Mark Crummley of Mount Carmel, Ill., who gave it back to Griffey after the game. Griffey gave Crummley the jersey off his back and a large shopping bag filled with other memorabilia that included a signed bat from Casey.
"It didn't seem right to plea bargain," Crummley said. "So I gave it back to him."
Jimmie Foxx was the youngest player to hit 500 homers, reaching the milestone at 32. Griffey was the fastest to 350, 400 and 450 before being slowed by injuries. From 2001-03, he played in only 234 games and totaled 43 homers.
Three other active players have hit 500 homers. Barry Bonds is third on the career list with 676, Sosa has 549 and Rafael Palmeiro has 538. Fred McGriff needs seven homers to become the 21st player to hit 500.
"I've got a ways to go," McGriff said. "I just have to keep going."
McGriff was happy to see Griffey reach the milestone.
"If not for injuries, he would have had 500 a while back," McGriff said. "He's had a great career and he's been healthy this year."
Rays manager Lou Piniella, who managed Griffey in Seattle, was also pleased.
"I'm happy for him, I really am," Piniella said. "I was there to see quite a few of his home runs in Seattle. He's a great kid. I was hoping with all the problems that he had the past few years injury-wise that he would stay injury free.
"I saw him this spring and he was in a great frame of mind and he was healthy and he looked good this spring swinging the bat. You could tell if he stayed healthy he was going to have a good year. It's happening for him and I'm happy for him."
Griffey was 5-for-21 with four RBIs in six games since homering last Sunday against Cleveland, and he hadn't come close to the fences before hitting his big homer off Morris (7-6), a drive estimated at 393 feet.
Morris has allowed a major league-high 23 homers in 15 starts and wasn't overly perturbed about being a footnote to history.
"I stayed away with breaking balls until on a 2-2 count I tried to slip a fastball by him," Morris said. "I guess people have been doing that 500 times, and it didn't work."
- Times staff writer Marc Topkin contributed to this report.
