Tuesday, May 11, 2010

No longer a kid, Griffey is unlikely to return to Eutaw Street this week

It's a must that I link to Dan Connolly's article "O's power trip leads to Eutaw Street," which provides an overview of Eutaw Street home runs and the intrigue that surrounds hitting the Warehouse on the fly.

Connolly uses the occasion of Ken Griffey Jr.'s (potentially last) visit to Baltimore to tell the Eutaw Street story. Griffey was the first player to hit the Warehouse, albeit during the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby.

Connolly uncovers some new ground, at least for me, in providing the names of players to hit the Warehouse in batting practice: Jay Gibbons, Walter Young, Carlos Pena, and David Ortiz.

Young, the heaviest player in major league history, would make for a fun bit of baseball trivia had he been the first one to hit the Warehouse in game action. However, Young hit just one home run for the Orioles, and it came on the road at Texas.

Young played alongside Jose Lima last summer with the Edmonton Capitals of the Golden Baseball League.

Something tells me that Sam Horn could've done it had he played more games at Camden Yards. Horn predicted as much back in 1992, telling the Washington Times: "When I hit one really good, I'll hit the warehouse. I may not be the first to do it and I don't want to talk too much, but I will be putting in my effort."

Griffey is unlikely to match his effort this week given that it would require him to stay awake for a full nine innings. 

Connolly's article serves as a nice reminder that I need to get cracking on more entries for the Eutaw Street Chronicles, which tell the back story behind each home run to land on the walkway.

Here's the Eutaw Street Chronicles archive.

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