Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken

I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. This afternoon, my hero, Cal Ripken, Jr. got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I sit here with tears in my eyes, clad in the orange and black for today's ceremony.

There are four Cal moments that have been swirling through my mind all day.

The first came when I was 8 years old. Cal, Cal Sr., Billy Ripken and the Bird were signing autographs at Montgomery Mall. We must have waited a couple of hours, but I got my autographs, and still proudly have them.

The second was that historic September 6, 1995 night when Cal broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive record streak. When the game became official and the "1" banner dropped, I have rarely felt such elation. I cried through much of Cal's victory lap, and still get a little emotional every time a clip is shown. In these days of corporate sponsorship, steroids and tainted records, it remains refreshing to have a moment of pure professionalism, athleticism and personal achievement.

The third came on a hazy, ungodly hot summer afternoon at Camden Yards in 1998. I was interning for HTS, the Orioles cable network. I was helping Tom Davis set up his pre-game report. Having a couple free moments, I sat in on the bench of the Orioles dugout. Eric Davis and Brady Anderson walked by me. To my right, about 5 feet away was Cal Ripken preparing for the night's game. I was 5 feet from my hero. I was drenched in sweat and had a rapidly beating heart, but am still unsure if that was from being so close to Cal or the relentless heat. I looked over at him, and saw a man preparing for his job. And although he was my hero and a superstar baseball player, he was for that moment, a regular person. And it was at that moment, I stopped being starstruck.

Finally, Cal's final games at Fenway Park in September 2001. It truly is amazing I wasn't fired at some point in those three days. The Red Sox showed much patience and I am forever appreciative. I was asked by the organization to make a tribute video for Cal for his final Fenway game. I called my mom, and by the next morning, had every Cal momento collected through the years. In the one minute 42 second video, about 80% of the footage came from my own collection.

The Sunday before his last game was an afternoon game. Afterwards, I hung around in the Control Room, putting the finishing touches on my video. I took a break and saw Cal walking on the field with a video camera. I took that moment to go to the controls for the Green Monster scoreboard and punch in the number 8 in the At Bat section. Mikey, showing a rare kindness to my Cal obsession, but up the number 8 on the jumbotron. I watched Cal walk along the field, hoping in some part I made this walk a little more special.

The final Fenway game was a very emotional day. Anxious for my video and for the game, my other job told me to leave by 11am and I spent the rest of the day at the park. I watched Cal conduct interview after interview in the stands. When I brought down the radar gun before the game, I stayed down there for the pre-game ceremonies. My video played on the jumbotron. My video played on the FOX affiliate. My video played on HTS for my Mom to see. Later, my friends at FOX taped Cal watching my tribute. At the end, he nudged the person next to him and said, "That was nice". There are few moments where I've been prouder. I alternated watching Cal's at-bats down with Ed Riley and behind PA announcer extrodinaire, Ed Brickley. Much of the game is a blur.

Seeing Cal's final at-bat was coming, I waded through the packed Fenway stands back down to Ed Riley. He was right behind the backstop, directly behind home plate. He made sure I was right up front, with nobody blocking my view. Ed gives Cal the most perfect introduction and Cal takes to the plate. The video shows me clinging to the backstop, and tears rolling down my eyes. I'm yelling, "Thank you, Cal", "I love you Cal". I stayed down there for the remainder of the game. Although I should have continued to stay there, I headed back to the Control Room when the game ended. I spent the next hour watching Cal thank fans in waves of mutual admiration. I went home that night so thankful that I got to, in some small way, thank Cal Ripken for all the happiness he brought me for so many years.

So with today's induction, I am reminded of so many prominent Cal Ripken moments in childhood memories. And so with his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, I simply say thank you Cal.

Quote of the Day:
"Equations are the devil's sentences" -Stephen Colbert