Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a gesture to one of its stellar members, the Major League Baseball Players Association has advised Cal Ripken of the Orioles it might not object if he resumed his quest for baseball's all-time consecutive game streak while other major leaguers were on strike.
But Ripken has flatly refused to consider the possibility.
Mark Belanger, a special assistant to players' union chief Donald Fehr, said he approached Ripken with the idea at a union meeting in New York last October.
``I pulled him [Ripken] aside and said, `By the way, if you would like, we can talk to the players and see how they would feel if you decided you want to play. You're an unusual circumstance.'
``But Cal said, `Don't bother. I'm not going anywhere. I didn't get into the game for a streak, and I'm not going to cross any line.'''
Ripken's agent, Ron Shapiro, dismissed speculation about Ripken playing for the Orioles during a strike as ``a bogus story.''
``Cal has stated all along that the streak will not stand in the way of his responsibility to the [players] association. He feels strongly about what the players in the past did for him and his obligation to them as well as to the players of the future,'' Shapiro said.
Belanger, himself a former Oriole shortstop, said that union officials consider Ripken a special case because of the streak. He needs only 122 to break New York Yankee Lou Gehrig's all-time record of 2,130 straight games, a plateau Ripken would reach next August, assuming he remained healthy.
But the streak could be snuffed out if baseball owners and players don't change the direction of their talks and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement by opening day.
Those prospects, which have seemed slim recently, dimmed further last week when baseball owners made good on their threat to implement their salary-cap proposal.
Several owners have said they plan to open spring training camps on schedule and to begin the regular season with replacement players, if necessary. Ripken's streak would be a casualty of such a plan, which is opposed by several owners, including Oriole owner Peter Angelos. At a recent major league meeting, he told owners he'd resist their plans to start the season with replacement players.
Belanger said union officials think Ripken should have a voice in deciding what happens to the streak.
``We are talking history,'' he said. ``There is no question in our mind that this situation has been planned by the owners. It's mind-boggling to have something like this happen because these guys don't care. It's almost like they're saying to Cal, `We don't care about anybody.'''
Belanger said he and Fehr talked about Ripken's situation and decided the player should be consulted. If he had expressed interest in playing, the issue would have been brought up to other members of the players union.
But that never happened, Belanger said, because Ripken was vehement in rejecting any talk of playing during a strike. Belanger said he has not had another conversation with Ripken about the issue since.
Houston pitcher Todd Jones told the Houston Post Wednesday that he didn't think players would object to Ripken's playing while other major leaguers were on strike.
``This is no everyday record,'' Jones said. ``This is a Halley's Comet-type thing he's going after. It's safe to say that none of the union members would hold it against him.''
by CNB