Growing up in a small town in Maryland, he grew up loving steamrollers and watching Cal Ripken Jr. play baseball. He started following baseball in 1987 for five years. I grew up five minutes from where Cal grew up in Aberdeen. So as a kid or play a game wanting or hoping you could follow in his footsteps. You never thought about the day he’d call, he’d just leave whatever channel they were playing that night.
They announced that they would retire at the end of 2001. So the matter was before what day and time it would come. The day was October 6, 2001 and the place Camden Yards was the home of the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore City. They faced the Boston Redsox, the Orioles’ long-time rival.
Day before the game I remember not-stopping to play on eBay looking for tickets for the game. I finished the auction every day and the day before last I ended up bidding for 2 game tickets. As I understand it I paid close to four hundred dollars for the two upper support seats but after some initial thought I realized that this game was priceless. The money I spent was some of the best money I ever spent.
Game day came and I entered the Stadium that day, telling my uncle that this would be the day. I will not forget the day. That has stood true, as it is almost 8 years later and thinking about it every time I listen to the song “You will be there” by Faith Hill. He played this song in turn and after the game before. Redsox won the game but the magic was in him. In the flashing lights from thousands of cameras every day, he stood in the chest of the ram as he made a story, as he fought and almost anyone it was a sight!
Bottom of the ninth, two outs and Brady Anderson on his way to the plate. Ripken stands waiting in the on-deck spot waiting for a chance to bring up a bat. After a few pitches the count went to 3-2 and Anderson turned to pitch out of the strike zone for three strikes. As I stood in front of thousands of Orioles fans, I couldn’t stop thinking about how great it would be if Anderson walked and Ripken got his last at-bat. Thinking maybe that final homerun, that last hit, or just being able to hit that last at bat. Then I was filled with tears as I understood the hero as he played in the last game. I took a look around and realized that your hero wasn’t just a baseball man.
While saying goodbye to the continuous lamps, the lyrics “You’ll be there” played & tears flow. This was a game that many years later you sit back and say “Thats the best game I ever played”.
