When Cal Ripken Jr. takes the stage to be formally inducted into the National Hall of Fame, he?ll also be in the place he thrived for more than two decades in an Orioles? uniform: the spotlight.
Six local television stations, several area radio stations, ESPN and an expected crowd of 60,000 will be in Cooperstown to watch, document and record the Iron Man?s every move when he is enshrined alongside the game?s greatest players.
It?s Cal?s big day, but it?s also Baltimore?s big day ? the biggest one in this city since the Ravens paraded through the downtown after winning the Super Bowl in January of 2001.
When the Ravens hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in revelry in front of the thousands lining the streets, all the local media outlets beamed the image across the region. But when Ripken reads his acceptance speech Sunday, only ESPN will carry it live ? the worldwide leader in sports owns the exclusive rights for ceremony.
Local stations WMAR TV 2, WBAL TV 11, WJZ TV 13 and FOX 45 will begin covering the story today ? a day after Comcast?s Chick Hernandez and Chick Hearn opened their station?s coverage with “SportsNite: Hall of Fame Edition” from Cooperstown. Whether it?s Ripken?s highlights, tributes, analysis of his career, documentaries, his legacy or his impact on the city?s economy and communities, the stories about the great No. 8 will be seemingly endless.
But the coverage is not confined to television.
ESPN 1300 AM will broadcast Sunday?s ceremony live, but will lead up to the premier event by featuring several reporters live from upstate New York on Mark Viviano and Anita Marks? shows. WNST 1560 AM will also have plenty of live reports from Cooperstown beginning this morning.
But you have to love MASN?s approach. The station will have Jim Hunter reporting from Cooperstown during each edition of “O?s Extra” starting today and concluding Sunday. But MASN is going one step further. After MASN2 broadcasts the Orioles? game against the visiting Yankees Sunday afternoon at 1:35, the station will re-broadcast one of the greatest sporting events in Baltimore history at 7 p.m.: the Orioles? game against California Angels from Sept. 6, 1995 ? the game Ripken played in his major-league record 2,131st consecutive game.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.
