On Board with John-Ford Griffin

Healthy, rejuvenated, armed and dangerous this season, Syracuse Chiefs left fielder John-Ford Griffin is looking to assault the numbers he put up in 2005 after an injury-riddled 2006 campaign.

In his first season at the triple-A level, Griffin led the International League in home runs (30) and RBI (103) in 2005, becoming only the third player in Syracuse franchise history to eclipse the 30-homer/100-RBI mark in the same season. For his efforts, Griffin was named a post-season IL All-Star and was also selected as the R. Howard Webster Award winner for Syracuse as the team's MVP.

The Blue Jays gave Griffin a look at the end of the year and he knocked in six runs in seven games. In the final game of the regular season, October 2, Griffin connected on his first Major League home run.

However, in 2006 Griffin was limited to 227 at-bats and his production fell to six homers and 22 RBI. The injuries not only cost Griffin time at the plate, they also cost him a spot on the Blue Jays 40-man roster.

"I feel great right now," Griffin said recently. "My health is quite good this year. Last year I wasn't as healthy as I wanted to be. I had the nagging injuries and didn't push myself the way I should have. I left some things unattended to in my game."

"This year it's a different story for me going into the season," Griffin insisted. "I don't go up to the plate every time and try to hit a home run. I try to drive the ball like I know I can. Hitting the ball hard is something I have always thought I've been able to do whenever I put my mind to it. This year I've gone back to putting a consistent swing on the ball. If you put a good swing on the ball you're going to drive the ball."

Driving the ball is what Griffin is doing this year and the results have opponents sitting up and taking notice.

"He's just a dangerous, dangerous hitter," Rochester Red Wings Hitting Coach Rich Miller said. "If you make a mistake he'll hurt you."

Entering Wednesday's action, Griffin has hit six homers and driven in 23 runs. Just as importantly, he has played in 35 of the Chiefs' 37 games.

On the down side, Griffin also has 41 strikeouts in 129 at-bats, just 18 short of the 59 he had over 227 at-bats last year.

"I'm going to strike out," Griffin said. "I don't like to say that I'm going to do that, but it's something in my swing. Right now I'm striking out a little more than I want to, but at the same time I feel that the at-bats when I go up there and I put an emphasis on trying to drive the ball is what is making my at-bats a lot better this year. It's keeping from hitting into double plays or not getting the job done. I'm trying to get the job done a lot more."

If you think that the strikeouts come from trying to be a home run hitter, Griffin would say that you are wrong.

"I'm not trying to hit home runs," Griffin said. "I'm getting my swing back into a groove. Right now the way we are playing there is less stress on me to hit the long ball. Instead I'm able to just make contact and drive the ball and contribute that way."

"I get a lot of extension and elevation on the ball and end up driving them out of the ball park. If the ball leaves the park then that's a bonus," he continued.

Another area where the left-handed left fielder is getting the job done is his defense.

"The best thing for John-Ford is that he's playing in the field," Miller said. "He mostly was used as a DH (designated hitter) last year. To increase his value he needs to play out there in left. He's made plays out there and his throwing is much better then in the past."

"This year has been different in an attempt to improve defensively," Griffin, the Sarasota, Florida native, said. "I'm putting a lot more emphasis on my pre-game ritual. I go out and shag the way I know I can and get good reads on the ball so that in the game I will be better able to make a play. My arm strength is something I've always felt that needs to get stronger and I need to do a lot better job of doing that."

Following a successful college career at Florida State and a promising beginning to his professional career, Griffin is dead-set on getting back to the majors in spite of last year's setback. The Sarasota, Florida native set the FSU single-season record in 1999 by hitting .436 and again led the Seminoles in average in 2000, when he landed a spot on the ACC All-Conference First Team.

The Yankees made Griffin the 23rd overall selection in the 2001 Amateur Draft and he went on to hit .311 for Staten Island that summer. Griffin was subsequently traded to Oakland midway through the 2002 season and then to Toronto prior to the 2003 season, but he continued to earn accolades along the way. Baseball America selected Griffin as the A's fifth best prospect following the 2002 season and he was selected to the Eastern League All-Star team in 2003.

"After the injuries I've realized I'm not the same person that was drafted out of college," Griffin said. "If I'm going to be a Major League baseball player then I need to have the abilities that make me consistent in the game. There's no doubt in my mind I can play up there. I just need to find out exactly where I'm at. I love the Blue Jays. I love this team and organization. I consider it one of the better organizations in the league the way it's run. Hopefully as the year goes on and Toronto asks for help I can be a part of that."

If it were up to his peers, Griffin would be a shoe-in to get back to the bigs.

"He's a good hitter and is always dangerous," former SkyChief and current Red Wing Glenn Williams said. "He has good at-bats and puts good swings on the ball. If he gets a good pitch to hit he rarely misses it. If he can continue to do that he'll have a really big season. Hopefully he gets a chance to show that in the majors because he deserves that chance."

Griffin, a lover of golf, watching football and playing John Madden Football on his PlayStation-3 knows that none of his baseball success would be possible if not for intervention by friends and family during his formative years.

"I could have gone down a different path when I was growing up," Griffin said. "There were a lot of things that could have pulled me down the wrong road, but thanks to my family and the friends that I have back home I was able to continue with my number one passion - baseball."

Healthy again, Griffin's passion will drive his pursuit of a big league job this summer at Alliance Bank Stadium.