Ken Griffey Jr. mum on future

CINCINNATI — A day after hitting No. 600, Ken Griffey Jr. held off pondering where he might finish on the career home-run list — or where he could end up playing.

There has been ample speculation the last-place Cincinnati Reds might try to trade the 38-year-old right fielder once he reached his homer milestone. The Mariners, the team with which Griffey began his career, are one of the clubs mentioned in trade rumors.

"It's not up to me," Griffey said Tuesday, though he does have the power to veto deals. "It's a two-way street. I haven't thought about it."

Griffey was back in the starting lineup against St. Louis, a night after he homered in the Reds' 9-4 win at Florida. The right fielder joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the only players with 600 homers.

Griffey said the magnitude of his accomplishment still hadn't hit him.

"It probably won't until after I've had a couple of days at home during the offseason to think about it," Griffey said. "We have another game today. We're different than other sports. We don't have days off to think about it. It probably won't hit me until October."

The Reds hung a 54-foot tall banner near the entrance at Great American Ball Park to honor Griffey's achievement and plan to pay tribute to him with a day on June 17.

Griffey was given the star treatment all afternoon. When Griffey's home run was replayed, fans stood and clapped until he emerged from the dugout and tipped his helmet.

Griffey began the night hitting .260 with seven home runs and 29 runs batted in.

The 13-time All-Star is in the last year of his contract with the Reds. Cincinnati holds an option on him next season at $16.5 million — the team could buy out of it for $4 million.

"When I stop having fun and can't do it any more, that's when I'll give it up," he said. "I've done everything you can do as far as individual accomplishments, except win a batting title. The team goals are still the same. You want to win a championship. It's a lot of fun, but it's a lot of hard work. It's a 24-hour job. Just because the game is over doesn't mean you stop thinking about it."

Also missing on Griffey's resume is an appearance in the World Series. He's made it to the playoffs only twice, in 1995 and 1997 with Seattle.

Griffey, born in Pennsylvania but raised in Cincinnati while his father starred for the 1970s Big Red Machine, has mentioned twice in the last year that he wouldn't mind finishing his career where he started it.

Griffey was traded from Seattle to Cincinnati before the 2000 season. Often injured, he's had up-and-down times with Reds fans since.

"I don't worry about it," he said. "It's a love-hate relationship here. I just go out and play as hard as I can. The one thing I haven't been able to do is stay as healthy as I wanted to."

Seattle manager John McLaren was a Mariners coach during Griffey's early ascent on the homer chart.

"I think we're in Safeco [Field] because of him," McLaren said before Seattle's game Tuesday in Toronto. "For me, he's the best player in the last 25 years. If he had stayed healthy, you can use your imagination. I was seeing things on TV last night, how they calculate things, and they had him at 710 home runs now with home runs and number of at-bats."

Note

• The 600th home-run ball, worth up to $100,000, is in the possession of a longtime Marlins fan whom the team will identify only as "Joe." Another fan, Justin Kimball, says the ball is rightfully his. Griffey wants it, too. The Marlins, Florida relievers and police who all have seen replays agree "Joe" — a season-ticket holder since 1993 — made a clean catch with his glove. So far, "Joe" has refused to give it up.