European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 02, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse By Henry Schulman san Francisco examiner one can choose to believe Cal Ripken or. Or Call him a Fibber but he swears this Milch is True his crowning achievement in baseball involves not Lou Gehrig but Garry. Matl Cox i m proudest of being on a team that won a world series Ripken said. I Vas Lucky that i caught the last out. It turned out to be a line drive and the moment i Ca Ugek the Ball it was the. Final closure to a great year. When you go out to play this game All you want to do is Wirt the. World Dox was the Philadelphia Phillie who hit the line drive on oct. 16,. 1983, about 1,860 games ago for the orioles shortstop. On wednesday weather permitting Ripken will break Geh rigs unbreakable record of 2,130 straight game is. He makes it Clear that while he has Learned to enjoy the recognition. The scream has brought him,.it does not Rule his life or career. Me could be saying so because he sincerely Means it or because he is doing his damnedest not to steal Atten Tigirt away from his Baltimore teammates and their fading quest for the american league wild card spot. Or maybe because he does t want people to forget he has been a decent ballplayer who began his career As the 1982 Rookie of the year has been an. All Star every year since and was map. Of the league in 1983 and 1991. It would be Nice if he got the record but i think he feels a Little Funky that it overshadows the Type of player he is said teammate Kevin Bass. Sure he s the Iron Man and he has the endurance but he s a real Fine player and a very Good shortstop. He takes Stock in this thing the Streak m sure. It s a great feat but he sees that As mainly for the so the people Wane to know As. He gets closer to passing Gehrig is. Ripken sleeping in a foam Bubble so Pecan t fall out of bed and Hurt himself. Is he sending his kids to relatives houses when they catch the flu is he refusing co cover second base on double play balls. No no and no Ripken said laughing. He s not worried about a last minute injury or a disease that could end the Streak so tantalizingly close to no. 2,13 1.i chink everybody else is starting to a Chat Way except me Ripken said. Everybody s starting co chink about die Way they re playing the there s a Blooper and the outfielder is Corning in its of no. I Hope we Don t collide if somebody is coming in to break up a double play its of no what if i take him out i refuse to think that Cal Ripken should snap Lou Gehrig s Mark of 2,130 straight games wednesday. Oakland left fielder Rickey Henderson said opponents can t think that Way either and the Streak is not an Issue Between the first pitch and the last out., you re thinking about the ballgame not worrying about a Streak Henderson said. You Hope he s never in a position where you have to take him out but if you be got to take him out you take him v Ripken was t even . By death threats on the recent West coast trip. He was so relaxed that on the night after r a game in Seattle he threw batting practice to Pitcher Ben Mcdonald who was trying to hit one Over the Wall for the first time. Ripken also thumbed his nose at superstition when he consented to a cover Story for sports illustrated a a couple of weeks ago although he said he did t know the piece was slated for the jinxed cover when he was interviewed and photographed in his swimming Pool. Ripken even jokes about ending the scream scarring a recent press gathering by shaking a writer s hand and complaining about Arm pain then putting his hat Down Over his eyes so the to. Cameras can t capture this bump on my the last month or so has left Ripken wondering whether to be Happy or sad. While he zooms in on 2,131 and tries to take Paul Molitor s off season advice to enjoy it go with the flow the orioles have flopped in their Pursuit of the Al East Crown. Ripken said that has taken some of the Joy out of the. Streak As did the harping that he was hurting the team when he slumped in past years and refused to sit Down for the Sake of a personal achievement. But a s manager Tony la Russa said he doubted Oriole managers from Earl Weaver on would keep sending Ripken out there if he were hurting the team. He is excellent offensively and excellent defensively at the most important position on the infield. To be that Strong mentally to go out every Day i be never seen anyone like him. He s got to be the strongest Man Between the ears that this league has ," la Russa said As of How Many games Ripken will play after he passes Gehrig and How Many years he will play Ripken who turned 35jiast week insists he has t thought thac far ahead. Your perspective on ending your career is different than your first few years he said. Then you. Think you la play forever. But nobody can really play forever. Ill play As Long As i can and when my window is closed i la know Scripps Howard service Ripken has a Ball last week in California is. The Angels who will visit Baltimore wednesday for the record breaking game. By Ben Walker associated press Alook at Cal Ripken s career by the numbers 0 times he has been on the disabled list since he began playing pro Ball in 1978. A total of 3,695 have gone on the disabled list since Ripken started his consecutive games Streak in 1982. 1 world series appearances Ripken batted just. 167 against Philadelphia in 1983, but caught a line drive by Garry Maddox for out in game 5, clinching the title for the orioles. 2 children for him and his wife Kelly. Rachel Marie 5, was born in , 2, was born in july on an Oriole off Day of course. 3 errors he made in 1990. That set the major league record for fewest errors in a season by a shortstop. 4 games he has left before the seventh inning stretch during his Streak. His earliest exits came when he was ejected in the first inning for arguing with Umpire Tim Welke in .1987 and Drew Coble in 19s9. 5 consecutive years which he played every inning. Ripken played 8,2-13 straight innings from june 5, 1982, to sept 14, 1987, making it a. Few months More than five years. 6 seasons he played with brother Billy on the orioles. Cal and Billy were managed by their father Cal sr., in 1987 and part of 1988, the previous time three members of the same family were together was 1973 when Hector Tommy and Jose Cruz played for St. Louis. 7 appearances As a Pinch runner. He made his major league debut on aug 10, 1981, As a Pinch runner for Ken Singleton in the Bottom of the 12th inning in Baltimore and scored the winning run against Kansas City. 8 his number. He is the 14th Baltimore player to Wear it and surely the last. Five orioles have had their numbers retired Brooks Robinson 5frank Robinson 20jim Palmer 22eddie Murray 33 and Earl Weaver 4. 9 players including Ripken who have hit 20 or More Home runs in their first 10 full seasons. Ripken is the career Leader in homers by a shortstop. 10 years in which Ripken has led his league in most games by a shortstop. It s one of 11 major league or Al Fielding records that he either holds or shares. 11 number of Al players who have won at least two Al map awards. Ripken won in 1983 and again in 1991,12 consecutive starts in the ail Star game the most Ever by a shortstop. He was the game s map in 1991 wich a three run Homer a Day alter he won the Home run Derby. 16 innings he has missed this season. Going into this year he had played 18,139 of the orioles 18,287 innings 99.2 percent since he starred his Streak. Map of the 1991 All Star game. 19 ballparks where he has played regular season games. He was the last Batter at memorial stadium in Baltimore grounding into a double play to end a loss to Detroit on oct. 6,1991. 27 games he played As a third baseman after starting his Streak on May 30, 1982. Manager Earl Weaver moved him to shortstop on july. 1 that year. 522 starting shortstops used by the other 27 teams during Ripken s Streak. Ripken has started every game during his Streak. Lou Gehrig started All but two games of his record 2,130, with infamous Fred Merkle. Twice taking his place at first base for the Yankees. As the drumbeats for Streak wee grow louder let s pause to ask Basic question Why Why is everyone going blotto with. Excitement about Cal Ripken or. Breaking Lou Gehrig s consecutive games record Why is it being viewed As one of the Touchstone sporting moments of our time the Streak after All does t celebrate the Mastery of a skill such As hitting Home runs or throwing fastballs As other major records do. It in t about winning or achieving or establishing superiority sure it s amazing that someone. Can play in so Many games in s Row but there is no excitement on the Field no. Inherent drama nothing except a Guy going to work every Day. And in and of itself that is let s face it not exactly the Crux of the matter in baseball. John Eisenberg Baltimore Sun i then is this feat stirring such passions and generating such acclaim across the country Because of. The Gehrig myth. And because of what Ripken symbolizes to so Many fans. Gehrig s Impact on the growing i applause for Ripken can t be emphasized enough Ripken says he has never been that interested in learning about Gehrig which is Fine but please understand there would t be such a j thing As a consecutive games record basically if not for Gehrig / the defining accomplishment of Ripken s career would t be nearly so big and important if not for Gehrig. When a Light hitting shortstop named Everett Scott held the record. 1307 games from 1925 to 1933, it was regarded As a minor feat. Who. Cared if a career .249 hitter had played in every game for. Some nine seasons. No one even noticed that Gehrig was close to breaking the record until a. New York sportswriter figured it out in Spring training in 1933, several before Gehrig passed Scott ,. In the hands of Gehrig one of the Best ballplayers Ever the record became a new York Story a big Deal. Gehrig a .340 career hitter gave the record its substance and style its glittering. Uniqueness. Then when the Iron Man was killed before his 40th. Birthday bizarre disease and his life became High sporting mythology the record became tragic lore. Gehrig s Story As sad As it is is one of the most dramatic and fabled in. Sports history Seymour Siwoff general manager of the Elias sports. Bureau base Bah s official statistician. This great National fascination Vith Ripken s Pursuit has a lot to do with the fact that he s chasing Gehrig one of the few athletes whose name puts chills Down your spine "., if Ripken were chasing say Everett Scott instead of Gehrig it would still be a big Deal but this big no Way. It is the Gehrig myth so emotional that injects the drama and life into Ripken s Pursuit Ripken s Pursuit also is a big Deal across the country not because of what he has accomplished on the Field which in t that amazing but because of what he symbolizes to fans. He is viewed As the Antithesis of tie stereotypical selfish arrogant modern athlete. The anti Barry Bonds if you will. A ballplayer from the old school who Learned so much from the Best of. Teachers his father Cal Ripken or. The Streak is huge because it is amazing that a ballplayer can go 14 years without missing a game. But it is because Cal Ripkin of All people is chasing Lou Gehrig of ail people that the cheers will resonate so loudly across the sporting landscape wednesday up Cal or. As shortstop and Cal or. As third base coach on 83 Champion orioles. Page 1 2 beyond the game september 2-8, 1995 beyond the game. Page 1 3
