As a Maryland gal, and die-hard Orioles fan, I’m so SO excited about Cal Ripken, Jr., the “Iron Man,” being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame because the man is awesome.
Bob and I still talk about the 1995 game we went to, when the O’s played the Angels and Cal broke Lou Gehrig’s record by playing 2,131 consecutive games. Talk about a memorable night! Camden Yards nearly exploded with emotion as he took to the fields, and when he hit that home run? Oh my gosh. Total chaos. (A few minutes later, I went out to buy a drink and saw this huge swarm of security guards taking a guy out of the stadium, with reporters following, and I later found out it was the man who caught the home run.)
And then, when they dropped these huge banners that read “2131” from the warehouse windows, Cal circled the stadium twice, shaking hands with fans and waving to the crowd. It was enough to make a grown man shed a tear, judging from the damp eyes around me.
Congratulations, Cal! We’re so proud of you!
