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EXTRA INNINGS a Life Lesson from Cal Ripken, Jr

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EXTRA INNINGS a Life Lesson from Cal Ripken, Jr EXTRA INNINGS A Life Lesson from Cal Ripken, Jr. Cal Ripken Sr., a promising catcher in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization took so many foul tips off his shoulder that it was irreparably damaged, ending his playing days. To stay in the game he switched to coaching, later becoming manager of the Orioles. The Ripken genes were passed on to his sons, Cal Jr. and Billy. Both became major league players, also in the Orioles' system. In a remarkable feat, in 1987, manager Cal Sr. had an infield anchored by Cal Jr. at shortstop and Billy at second base—one of the great family stories in baseball. Cal Jr. was grabbed by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1978 draft. Built to be a pitcher with his strong arm and 6'-4", 225 lb. frame, he impressed the Orioles with his fielding skills and ability to hit with power, so they turned him into a shortstop. After seasoning in the minors, he made it to the big time in 1982. Ripken blasted twenty-eight home runs and ninety-three runs-batted-in, earning the 1982 Rookie of the Year Award. The rest of his brilliant twenty-year career included nineteen All- Star appearances, two Most Valuable Player awards, two Gold Glove awards, eight Silver Slugger awards, and a World Series ring, to name just a few. He still holds league records for his defensive play. He was enshrined into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2007. Ripken’s monumental achievement, however, began in his rookie year, 1982. For the next seventeen seasons, through 1998, he played in a mind-boggling 2,632 consecutive games. He surpassed Lou Gehrig’s fifty-six-year-old record, thought to be unbreakable, of 2,130 games. To put Ripken’s accomplishment in perspective, at the end of the 2020 season, the longest consecutive game streak by any of the 840 major league players stood at a paltry 306 games. That player would have to play every day for the next fourteen seasons to match Ripken’s amazing accomplishment. One of the good guys in baseball, Cal Ripken Jr. remains a credit to the sport and to America—from his many charitable organizations to his diplomacy-building role for the State Department in China, Japan, Nicaragua, and the Czech Republic, to building ball fields for at-risk youth. When former teammates talk about Ripken, they speak of his character, dignity, loyalty, and integrity. Most of all, however, they tell of his perseverance. He fought off twisted ankles, sprained knees, batting slumps, and even death threats from some who didn’t want Lou Gehrig’s record broken. Perseverance is staying power—sticking by our core beliefs and what we know to be true—through pandemic fatigue, ZOOM burnout, discouragement, loneliness and anxiety. Perseverance presses on through physical affliction, economic hardships, doubts, and just everyday living in our pressure- cooker world. Pete Aman .
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