Blasting career home run number 521 against Colorado tied Ken Griffey Jr. with legends Ted Williams and Willie McCovey for 14th on the all-time list. It also helped the putrid Reds capture a 9-4 win and series sweep of the even more pathetic Rockies. Is the real Junior back for awhile, or will that fragile shoe drop again? ?He's making a statement this year,? Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. ?He's got some gas left in that tank, no doubt about it.? That fuel carries a super octane rating. Griffey is now hitting .290, with 20 homers and 61 RBIs. He also wields a .546 slugging percentage, and is making a strong statement for Comeback Player of the Year. He looks a bit like that dominant guy we fondly remember from the nineties. But is it just a tease? So far this season, he has managed to play in 86 of the team?s 91 games. And played well. That is quite the switch from the man who missed some 331 games between 2001 and 2004. ?People have to understand I've just been hurt,? Griffey shrugged. ?I haven't forgotten how to play baseball. I just haven't been able to do it as much as I like.? Just been hurt? How about this: Tearing ligaments in his knee during an exhibition game; separating a shoulder while making a diving attempt in center field; various foot, heel, wrist, and hamstring injuries. Last season, he managed to rip a hamstring off the bone. Ow. Just been hurt. Sure. At one time, Griffey was a special player in a class that is restricted to only a few at a time. He may have even been the head of the class, although a chap by the name of Bonds may have had some say in that matter. There was no disagreement about his extraordinary ability, though. The now 35-year-old outfielder won ten Gold Gloves from 1990 to 1999, and was one of the game?s biggest sluggers in his first 10 years in Seattle, before being traded to his hometown of Cincinnati in 2000. In the 1993 season, he hit home runs in 8 consecutive games. Griffey has also made a habit out of hitting homers on special days. Last Father?s Day, for instance, he smoked the 500th of his career in St. Louis, while his dad and son beamed and cheered in the stands. That homer also tied him with his father in career hits at 2,143. ?Home runs on Father's Day, my dad's birthday, Mother's Day -- I just try to space them out,? Griffey laughed. ?I don't know, there's just something about those days.? In 1989, the Ken Griffey Jr. chocolate bar was hatched. Over a million of those things were sold, and presumably eaten. Maybe that was the start of everything. He was later voted Seattle Post-Intelligence?s Sports Star of the Year, and found himself one half of the first ever father-son combination to play in the Majors. The following year, both Ken Griffeys appeared in the same lineup, another Major League first. They are also the only father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs. Some fun. Things were not all rosy for Junior in his youth, however. Despite being named player of the year twice during high school while playing 3 years of football and 4 years of baseball, he attempted suicide by swallowing 200 aspirin tablets. ?It seemed like everyone was yelling at me in baseball, then I came home and everyone was yelling at me there,? Griffey told The Seattle Times when he revealed the story in 1992. ?I got depressed. I got angry. I didn't want to live.? And isn?t everybody glad he lived. There?s no denying his place in history. His best season was in 1997 when, at age 27, he belted 56 homers, drove in 147 runs, had a slugging percentage of .646, and won the AL MVP award. He amassed 398 homers before his 30th birthday, and was named Player of the Decade by his peers. He was also part of the All-Century team. Maybe he?s shooting for the New-Century team now. ?I'm fortunate to have been healthy early in my career and put up some numbers,? Griffey acknowledged. ?For the last few years, it seems like I've just been putting along.? So he?s back, and no one knows for how long. Just enjoy while you can.