Mike Celizic

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600^th home run Monday, and perhaps is no further use to Cincinnati. Therefore, expect the Reds to dump him and his salary — they’ve already dumped the season — and send him back to Seattle, where he began his career and had his most magnificent seasons.

It’s entirely possible it’s the wrong move for the wrong reasons. Any time a team brings an old hero back, it’s thinking of the player who used to be and not the one who is. And even if he is rejuvenated, it probably won’t matter to the Mariners, who are one of the worst teams in baseball.

But who really cares about any of that? There are some things that simply are right, even when everything about them seems wrong. And bringing Junior back to Seattle to play for fans who care about him, is the right thing.

What you’d ask for on top of that is for Griffey to suddenly get healthy and put together one more glorious season, like the ones he used to reel off with inconceivable ease. You know he can’t hit 56 long balls and drive in 140, but you’d like to see him have one more grand year, a year of health and production.

In Cincinnati, that’s not going to happen. He’s never been totally embraced there, and the team seems barely to be trying.

Seattle is playing even worse, but at least the M's are trying. Maybe Griffey doesn’t make a big difference this year, but he’ll bring some excitement back to the ballpark. He could even be the veteran presence that can lead the team to play above its capabilities instead of so far below them.

Besides, Seattle fans want him back. They showed that last year, when they welcomed him back to what they consider to be his home during interleague play. He was so moved by his reception then that he said he wouldn’t mind coming back to Seattle to finish his career. This week, he said nothing’s happened to change his feelings.

He considers Cincinnati to be his home town, but there’s nothing there for him, no hope of getting to the postseason, no real love for the native son, and utterly no exposure. Once he gets his milestone, there’s no reason for the team to keep him; they can finish last without him.

And that’s not what he deserves. Griffey hasn’t always been the most personable guy. When he was younger, he used to whine frequently about having to answer such difficult questions from the media as, “How are you feeling.”

But put against his accomplishments and the joy he takes in playing the game, that’s small potatoes. When I watch him now, I don’t see flaws. I see a guy who for all appearances has come by his Hall of Fame numbers with the equipment with which nature equipped him, unenhanced by chemicals.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

I also see a guy who’s maybe the best player we’ve seen in the last 20 years. For all the legitimate talk about the greatness that is A-Rod, had injuries not intervened, Junior Griffey would have more career home runs than anyone. His 162-game average is 40, and if he’d just been able to stay on the field, he’d have passed Aaron a year or two before Bonds did.

This is a guy who once hit 209 homers in four seasons. In 1996, he had 93 extra-base hits, including 56 home runs. He missed 51 games in 1994, 22 in 1996, 51 in 2001, 92 in 2001, 109 in 2003, 79 in 2004, 34 in 2005 and 53 in 2006.

That’s 491 games — three full seasons and a little extra. And still he’s verging on 600 home runs, 2,600 hits and has more than 1,700 RBIs. It’s easy to say that a man who did nothing worse during his career than annoy Buck Showalter by wearing his hat backwards during batting practice deserves a year or two of health and maybe a shot at 700 legitimate home runs. But none of us deserves anything other than what life give us, and usually it’s a mixed bag. And by most accounting methods, Griffey’s had a great life.

Just the same, if you wanted to say he deserves better, I won’t argue with you.

I don’t think Seattle fans would argue, either.

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Victor Zambrano's mother rescued in Venezuela   Rollins and Victorino repeat as Gold Glove winners MLB blog: Mariners are bringing back Griffey ... why? Wainwright: Holliday wants to return to Cards Report: Granderson could be traded Yankees will inquire about Halladay Report: Mets, Phillies interested in Figgins Report: Angels still might re-sign Lackey Report: Mets begin discussions for Holliday Ex-Dodgers CEO responds in divorce battle   Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: