Ken Griffey Jr. was Voted Player of the Year by his peers in the 1997 Players Choice Awards, Junior not only won his second home run crown but joined Mark McGwire in a spirited chase of Roger Maris' single- season home run record. Griffey has hit more home runs in a season than any other lefthanded batter in history except for Maris and Babe Ruth. When he homered in eight straight games in 1993, he tied the major league record set by the Pirates' Dale Long in 1956 and matched by the Yankees' Don Mattingly in 1987.