From No-Show to Big Show for Griffey

Fans attending the home run derby Monday night at festivities for the 69th All-Star Game weren’t pleased with Seattle Mariner center fielder Ken Griffey Jr.

They booed Griffey repeatedly because he had to be persuaded to participate in the fan-friendly, TV-engineered two-hour event at Coors Field.

But when the contest ended, the fans were back on Griffey’s side. And Griffey was pleased as well.

Griffey finished with a total of 19 home runs as 51,231 at Coors Field looked on. That’s the largest crowd in the ballpark’s four-year history.

The 1997 American League most valuable player hit eight homers in the first and second rounds, and three in the final round.

His longest homer was estimated at 468 feet. First baseman Jim Thome of the Cleveland Indians finished second with 17 homers.

St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire leads the major leagues with 37 homers, and his shot estimated at 510 feet was the longest ever hit as Coors Field.

But McGwire failed to advance in the competition after hitting only four homers in the first round.

The night didn’t begin well for Griffey either, but he turned things around. “I don’t like to get booed, and I don’t think anybody does,” he said. “The All-Star Game is not a time to get booed.

“I usually get booed on the road, but in this situation I really didn’t like it. But you know, they [the fans] felt that they wanted me in the home run competition, so I did it.”

The fans made their feelings clear.

Griffey was booed before the competition when he and McGwire were presented with trophies awarded to the American and National League players, respectively, who receive the most All-Star votes in fan balloting.

At that point, Griffey planned not to participate because he said he was tired after playing a night game Sunday at Texas. Moreover, Griffey said he was concerned that doing too much during the All-Star break might effect his performance when play resumes Thursday.

During the pregame booing, Griffey decided to compete. Afterward, he stressed he was drained.

“People don’t realize how grueling our schedule is being in Seattle,” Griffey said. “All our off-days are travel days. I mean, they’re not [days] where we can go to a city and have a nice meal.

“I mean, we’re getting there sometimes at [7 p.m.] after our flight, after being on a plane for six hours. All you have time to do is grab something to eat, go back to the hotel and go to sleep.

“Some days we’ve got day games after night games in different cities. I’ll be a little worn out now, but hopefully I’ll be ready for the second half.”

Fans didn’t accept Griffey’s reasoning for initially snubbing the event.

Griffey and McGwire are chasing Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61 set in 1961. Griffey entered the All-Star break with 35 homers, and fans were giddy about the prospect of the sluggers dueling in the major league’s top launching pad.

ESPN fueled anticipation by maneuvering to broadcast the event in prime time. So it didn’t sit well with many when Griffey said he would sit out.

Griffey said several people he respects strongly encouraged him to change his mind, Frank Robinson among them. And when someone in the hall of fame speaks, Griffey pays attention.

“If a guy with his type of numbers relays something to me that’s positive, then I’ve got to do nothing but stop and listen to him,” said Griffey, who declined to identify the player he bumped from the contest.

“This is my 10th year in the big leagues, and I know I’m still learning. You don’t know everything.”

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McGwire realizes that fans want to see him hit home runs, but the major leagues home-run leader said he won’t be trying to break records tonight during the 69th All-Star Game at Coors Field.

“You have to realize that Coors Field has a gigantic outfield, where balls will fall in,” McGwire said. “Normal singles in most ballparks will be doubles if you have speed.

“It’s a great hitters’ ballpark, and hitting is staying within yourself. I mean, if you go to Boston [Fenway Park], you can’t try to swing and hit it over the Green Monster.”

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David Wells of the New York Yankees, the American League starter in tonight’s All-Star Game, knows what to expect.

“I think I have a vision of a high-scoring game,” he said, hopefully not when I’m in there.”

Just in case, he’s got a strategy for pitching in Denver--”Duck!”

National League starter Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves sees other problems with pitching in Coors Field.

“Sliders don’t slide as much, curve don’t curve as much,” he said.

Maddux, a four-time Cy Young winner, knows from first-hand experience. In three starts at Coors, he’s allowed 14 earned runs in 18 1/3 innings.

“I think probably one of the biggest things is the outfielders have to play a little bit deeper and you always give up the extra base on a base hit,” he said. “Instead of runners at first and second, it’s always first and third.”

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Mike Hargrove, the Cleveland Indian and American League All-Star manager, once told new Dodger closer Jeff Shaw that he didn’t have good enough stuff to pitch in the majors.

“It was 1992, when Mike sent me down for the last time,” Shaw, who began his career with the Indians, was recalling in the NL clubhouse. “We got into a heated argument, and it kind of stayed with me because Mike and I had started our pro careers together as teammates in A ball and I thought that our relationship went beyond manager and player.”

It stayed with Shaw to the extent that he discussed it with Hargrove before a recent interleague game between the Reds and Indians.

“He told me that he didn’t remember saying it, and I said, ‘Grover, you definitely said it,’ ” Shaw said. “And he said, ‘Well, if I said it, then I apologize to you because I was definitely wrong.’ I accepted his apology, and we buried the hatchet.”

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All the accolades, all the excitement of his first All-Star appearance would not have meant anything to Atlanta Brave shortstop Walt Weiss without his 3-year-old son Brody at the ballpark.

On Monday, Weiss got the word that his family was hoping to hear--Brody had recovered well enough from a life-threatening strain of E. coli bacteria to sit in the stands tonight.

“The fact that he’s getting better and will be here is really special,” Weiss said. “No doubt, this is still a special game, but I am definitely looking at it with a different perspective and through different eyes.

“What I do for a living is important to me and everyone in this locker room. But how can I compare that to what we’ve been through?”

HOME RUN DERBY RESULTS

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R1 SF F Tot Long Ken Griffey Jr., Sea 8 8 3 19 468 Jim Thome, Cle 7 8 2 17 477 Vinny Castilla, Col 7 5 12 475 Rafael Palmeiro, Bal 7 3 10 477 Moises Alou, Hou 7 7 463 Javy Lopez, Atl 5 5 474 Alex Rodriguez, Sea 5 5 452 Mark McGwire, StL 4 4 510 Damion Easley, Det 2 2 443 Chipper Jones, At 1 1 420

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Note--Moises Alou was eliminated from second round on basis of fewer regular-season home runs. R1--Round One. SF--Semifinals. F--Final Round. Tot.--Total Homers. Long--Longest home run.

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Staff writer Ross Newhan and the Associated Press contributed to this story.