Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 20, 1993                   TAG: 9308200109
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Seattle Times
DATELINE: MEDINA, WASH.                                LENGTH: Medium

NO HIT BUT BIG ERROR: GIRL'S DEATH THREAT ON PLAYER A PRANK

The teen, as a joke on her boyfriend in New Jersey, logged onto the Prodigy computer network's bulletin board and typed out a death threat against Ripken, a shortstop with the Baltimore Orioles.

It was meant to get a rise out of the boyfriend, who idolizes Ripken, said Joe Race, police chief in this affluent community just east of Seattle.

It got a rise all right - but out of Prodigy security officials, who screen the messages from their headquarters in New York. Prodigy contacted New York police and provided the phone number that was assigned to the message. An officer called Seattle police, who contacted Medina police and security officials at Seattle's Kingdome, where the Orioles were playing the Seattle Mariners this week.

"We were notified just prior to game time on Monday," Kingdome security chief Pat Murphy said.

Kingdome officials immediately tightened security. "We do take these things seriously," Kingdome spokeswoman Carol Keaton said.

One reason for the concern, Murphy said, is that Ripken is closing in on Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games-played record. Gehrig, the legendary New York Yankee first baseman, played in 2,130 straight games. Ripken has played in more than 1,800 games, and that he may break a record that once seemed unapproachable has become dramatic for some fans.

Two King County police officers guarded Ripken during Monday's game. A third accompanied him to his hotel.

"He was aware of it, but he was very calm," Murphy said of Ripken.

Monday night, police staked out the address provided by Prodigy. "There was nobody home," Race said.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, the 14-year-old arrived with her 28-year-old sister. "Her parents were on vacation, and the older sister was in charge," Race explained.

The girl admitted she sent the message and was "very embarrassed and apologetic," Race said.

Kingdome security officials told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that they'll bill her family about $750.

The girl received a stern lecture from police, but no criminal charges will be filed. "By the time her sister got done chewing her out," Race said, "that was enough."