El Cajon Native Pitches Big Papi's 400th

A.J. Griffin honed his baseball skills in Fletcher Hills Little League

An El Cajon native, now playing for Oakland A’s, was part of Major League Baseball history Wednesday when he pitched an historic homer to Boston Red Sox David Ortiz.

A.J. Griffin,24, graduated from University of San Diego as well as Grossmont High School and, even earlier than that, honed his baseball skills through the Fletcher Hills Little League system.

In the fourth inning against the Red Sox Wednesday, Griffin threw the pitch that Ortiz hit for his 400th homer.

The 36-year-old Big Papi's home runs rank eighth among active players and 49th on the all-time list. Next up for him to catch: Hall of Famer Duke Snider with 407.

Interesting note: The A's also allowed Paul Konerko's milestone 400th home run for the White Sox when he did it April 25 against Grant Balfour in the Coliseum.

Griffin just came out of the minors less than two weeks ago. 

Griffin offered up only three hits in Oakland's win Wednesday over the Sox. The Ortiz hit was his only earned run along with two walks and three strikeouts.

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