THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 7, 1995 TAG: 9509070577
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
DATELINE: BALTIMORE LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
In a season in which baseball felt a need to speed up the game, the most memorable 22 minutes will be Wednesday's interruption of play.
The long, loud, emotional tribute to Cal Ripken will be the finest 22 minutes of the 1995 season, though this may be damning the Camden Yards eruption with faint praise.
You will not hear from critics of slow play this time. Or from those who suggested Ripken should sit out game No. 2,131.
Perhaps Hampton Roads could hear the friendly thunder from Oriole Park roaring down the Chesapeake Bay. No question, the nation felt it.
There was that moment when Ripken went over to where his wife and two children sat. Ripping off his jersey, Cal revealed a black T-shirt. Printed on the back were the words: ``2,131 hugs and kisses for Daddy.''
When, after about 10 minutes of continuous tumult, Ripken tried to hide in the Orioles dugout, only to be pushed out by his teammates for a victory lap around Oriole Park, the celebration reached a crescendo.
Waving and high-fiving his way around the field, this son of Maryland and child of baseball touched his public in one more way.
While Joe DiMaggio and Bill Clinton and Al Gore and Cal Ripken Sr. gazed down from the stands, Ripken moved hatless over the field, looking happy and relieved.
The Streak has taken its toll on Ripken. The number 2,131 has done a number on his emotions.
``It's been a difficult time,'' he said of the last few days. ``It's been tough to eat, it's been tough to sleep. While it's certainly been a wonderful experience, mentally, it can be a little exhausting.''
Ripken is the first to admit that overtaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games record was ``not great, great pressure, like a home run record or a hitting streak.''
What it is, Ripken acknowledges is ``an event.''
What kind of event, probably even he could not realize. Of course, the record was Ripken's the moment he showed up at the ballpark. The rest of the evening was a festival of highlights, memories, standing ovations and exploding camera flashes.
Somewhere in all this, the O's and Angels squeezed in a game on a night that felt more like a party.
Before the game, Clinton and his entourage visited the Orioles locker room. Ripken presented the president with three Orioles jackets, and a signed bat. Then he said to the president, ``This is the closest thing to an outer-body experience I'll ever have. It's like somebody else is in your shoes.''
Unlike Tuesday's post-game tribute, which included a soap opera star and David Letterman's Top 10 list, Wednesday's festivities promised to be a little more dignified, if not because of Clinton and Gore, then because DiMaggio was in the house.
And, on this night, the ceremonial first pitches were thrown by Ripken's children, Ryan and Rachel.
Tuesday, after tying Gehrig's record, Ripken was asked how he would spend the day of No. 2,131.
``I have a very big event tomorrow and it involves my daughter,'' he said. ``It's her first day of school and I plan on getting up and taking her to school.''
One of Ripken's gifts is the ability to say something like this without making it sound corny or contrived.
What a bonus for baseball that Ripken's streak came along when it did. You do not hear a negative word about the game when the spotlight is on the Orioles shortstop.
In a column he wrote last week, political pundit and Orioles board member George Will fretted that many modern Americans would think Ripken's dedication to his job was ``weird.''
Worry not, George.
Ripken is so obviously genuine that Americans, even those who may not completely understand, relish the opportunity to embrace his old-fashioned approach to responsibility and duty.
We are always being asked to honor our athletes, our movie stars, our musicians, even our politicians.
It can become an endless chore.
Ripken offers us a rare opportunity: a chance to honor an honorable man.
It was worth 22 minutes of baseball's time. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS COLOR PHOTO
Cal Ripken Jr. acknowledges the crowd Wednesday night after breaking
Lou Gehrig's consecutive-game mark.
Graphic
KRT,VP,STAFF
RIPKEN AND THE STREAK
SOURCES: Baltimore Orioles; KRT research by ROY GALLOP; VP Staff
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB