In the middle of the fifth inning during his record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game on Sept. 6, 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. took a lap around the warning track at Camden Yards, thanking his hometown fans.
The fans, in return, were giving thanks to Ripken for saving baseball.
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Just a year before, baseball was rocked with a 232-day work stoppage that wiped out the World Series and tarnished the game?s image. In a time when escalating contracts distanced the player from the working-class fan, Ripken was seen as a throwback to a cherished era when players spent their entire careers in one city.
“Cal saved baseball after the strike,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “He is a great ambassador for this game, for the community and all of baseball. What he did in the game was great, but what he does off the field is better.”
Ripken?s efforts to lure fans back to the ballpark, which included countless hours signing autographs, did not go unnoticed from players around the league.
“I think he really set an example for the rest of us professional guys. Everybody knew about the record, everybody knew about the numbers,” fellow Hall of Fame inductee Tony Gwynn said.
“He was a home run guy that could drive in the big run. Just an everyday guy. The thing that impressed me the most was the way he dealt with people. When you see a guy who has that kind of spotlight shining on him, and still is able to look people in the eye, have conversations with them, sign an autograph and still be a great player, I think that left an imprint on a lot of us”
Ripken?s mentality of going to work every day and giving maximum effort made him a symbol to Baltimoreans, who related to his work ethic and humble nature.
Ripken, though, maintains he was simply doing what he loved.
Almost 13 years to the day after players went on strike, Ripken enters the Hall of Fame with baseball in fairly solid standing.
“Baseball?s popularity continues to increase,” Ripken said. “Whenthe focus is between the white lines, and you really look at the performances out on the field, it?s great.”
