By Justin Fenton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Four-year-old Carson Eyre of Mount Orab holds a small Ken Griffey Jr. shirt in case his aunt and uncle, Rob and Janet Collins of Felicity, decide to purchase it for him. (Meggan Booker /The Cincinnati Enquirer)

Dan Dicke thumbed through the racks of jerseys at the Reds team store in the downtown Westin Hotel, bypassing Barry Larkin, Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn offerings and pulled out a bright red Ken Griffey Jr. jersey.

"We always liked Griffey, even when he was with Seattle," said the 43-year-old Sidney, Ohio, resident, who was shopping with his sons. "He just got his legs back - you can't hit without your legs."

It wasn't always this way. Griffey's popularity dipped so much during three injury-plagued campaigns that Russell Athletic stopped making his jerseys, according to Chris Koch, an owner of Koch's Sporting Goods. Koch had to order blank jerseys and personalize them with Griffey's name and number.

But Griffey, one of the most marketable baseball players of the 1990s, has been receiving renewed interest from Reds fans looking for memorabilia and companies looking for a popular spokesman as he marches toward his 500th career home run.

The Reds' surprisingly strong season and their star center fielder's impending milestone have revived interest in Griffey, who energized fans when he was traded to Cincinnati in the prime of his career in 2000, only to leave them broken-hearted when a string of injuries often left him on the bench for three seasons.

The 34-year-old slugger's injuries not only dampened fans' enthusiasm but diminished his own marketability as a spokesman for national and local companies.

"Both Cincinnati and the baseball community are Griffey-starved," said Rick Miller, president of Cincinnati-based Northlich advertising agency. "Here's a star who's fallen on hard times who's back."

Interest in Griffey memorabilia has fallen in recent years.

But Helen Thomas, the owner of Skywalk Baseball Cards downtown, said sales and inquiries, particularly for autographed items, have been up recently. She says there is a "cautious optimism" among fans, who are excited for his return but wary of more injuries.

"No one is more popular than (first baseman Sean) Casey, but Griffey is beginning to bridge the gap," Thomas said. "It's gone from nothing to 50/50."

Still in demand

In the 1990s, while playing with the Seattle Mariners, Griffey's image was everywhere. Known as "The Kid," he had his own line of Nike cleats and was featured in ads taking swings with a backward hat and a million-dollar smile. He had endorsements with Nintendo, Pizza Hut, Upper Deck baseball cards, General Mills, All-Star Cafes, Score Board collectibles, Rawlings and Power Aid.

Shortly after he arrived in Cincinnati, local companies seized on the hometown hero. In his first year, he signed with Provident Bank to do ads with his father, a former popular Red, and made deals with Great American Insurance and Cincinnati Bell Wireless.

His annual off-the-field income was about $5 million.

Though he hit 40 home runs and drove in 118 runs in his first season with the team in 2000, he also injured his left hamstring that September, one of many injuries that would keep him off the field for the next three years.

Last year, Griffey played in 53 games before requiring season-ending surgery on his right ankle. Sunday will be his 53rd game this season.

"The last couple of years have been a little on the, not rough, but slowing-down side," said his agent, Brian Goldberg, in reference to Griffey's endorsement contracts. "Some of it had to do with the injuries and some of it had to do with changes in the economy."

Nintendo, which had Griffey under three different contracts spanning 11 years, stopped using athletes to endorse its video games. Pepsi and Nabisco both scaled back their baseball marketing. So did Provident, which relegated the Griffeys and another pitchman, former Bengal Anthony Munoz, primarily to community events.

"It's a change in strategy more than anything," said Chris Kemper, a spokesman for Provident. "We still have a great relationship."

Griffey remains under contract with many of the local and national chains, though Goldberg conceded his annual take from endorsement contracts has dipped "slightly" from his hefty earnings in the late '90s. Just last month, Upper Deck filmed a commercial with Griffey at Great American Ball Park.

In fact, Griffey's wealth of individual endorsement deals have hindered the Reds' ability to market him, said Cal Levy, the Reds director of marketing.

"That's been a prime lack of movement in why you don't see giveaways with Ken," Levy said. "He's been a marketing force on his own and had deals in place that we didn't feel were right for us."

Hitting 500

When he finally clubs home run No. 500, Griffey will become only the 20th player in baseball history to do so. While hitting 500 home runs is one of the major benchmarks in all of sports, two players have reached the plateau in the past year and four since 1999.

The bigger news, said Miller, is that Griffey is back.

"That number in and of itself, I think, has a minimal benefit to a market," he said. "500 is icing on the cake, but you need the cake."

After Griffey hit his 490th home run, the Reds unveiled a giant countdown board in Great American Ball Park's outfield, and Major League Baseball is creating a logo to commemorate the event that will adorn jerseys and T-shirts, Goldberg said.

He said two new companies recently contacted him about endorsements related to the 500 home runs.

Nationally, fans seem to be warming to Griffey again. He was voted into the starting lineup of the All-Star Game 10 years in a row but not at all since 2000. But so far this year fans have him in third place among National League outfielders, trailing only Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.

Eleven-year-old Colin McGivney has always been a fan. He flew in with his dad from Sparta, N.J., to see his favorite player for his birthday.

"I always liked him," said Colin, sporting a new Griffey jersey. "You stick with the players you like."

E-mail jfenton@enquirer.com