Last Wednesday night, Cal Ripken Jr. broke a 56-year-old record just by showing up for work. Before a crowd of more than 46,000 cheering baseball fans and millions more watching on TV, he played his 2,131st straight game. Through injuries, exhaustion and competition from other players, the 35-year-old shortstop hasn't warmed the bench for a whole Baltimore Orioles game since May 29, 1982.
The crowd included President Clinton and his daughter Chelsea. Ripken's children, two-year-old Ryan and five-year-old Rachel, threw out the first pitches. Adding to the excitement, Ripken smacked a home run in the fourth inning. Then, in the bottom of the fifth when the record became official, a deafening roar filled the stadium. It didn't stop for 22 minutes. Ripken ran a victory lap around the edge of the field and shook hands with hundreds of joyful fans as camera flashes blazed.
The old record was set by Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. Gehrig played first base for the New York Yankees in 2,130 games in a row from 1925 to 1939. Ripken didn't set out to rewrite baseball's record books. He just loves to play, and saw no reason to take a day off.
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, his former teammate, says, "I just hope the record doesn't obscure Cal's rightful place in baseball history, which is as the best shortstop ever."
Ripken was born to the game. His dad was a minor-league catcher who became a manager after an injury ended his playing career. When Ripken was 12, his dad managed the Orioles' farm team. Cal went to practices as the team's bat boy.
"That's where I first picked up my work ethic," he says. "My dad did everything. He was not only the manager but also the pitching coach, the batting coach, the batting-practice pitcher and the grounds keeper."
When Ripken was in a batting slump, some of his teammates said he should be benched. "I never understood the reasoning behind it," he says. "You don't get out of a slump by not playing. And if I wasn't hitting, I could help the team in other ways."
Will Ripken finally rest now that he's lived through the glory of breaking the record? No way, he says. He wants to play each game for the rest of the season. He won't settle for rewriting the record. He's going to knock it out of the park.