Add Feedback | Send this Article | Published 4/18/03

Graphic By: Matt Witherow

Cal Ripken Jr. was one of the most well-respected baseball players of all time. Day in and day out he would give 110 percent. Cal Ripken has a love for the game of baseball, and it showed by the way he played. He was a team player and was also best known as a team leader.

Nobody, especially myself, will ever forget when Ripken broke Lou Gherig's consecutive games played streak on Sept. 6, 1995, when he played in his 2,131 consecutive game. The celebration, which took place in the sixth inning, lasted nearly twenty minutes, while Ripken took a lap around the stadium and shook hands with numerous fans. That record, in my opinion, will never be close to broken. To say that Ripken is one of the greatest players of all time is no fluke. He is at the top of the list among the greats along with Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Micky Mantle, Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron.

Other people seem to agree with me about Ripken. Sophmore Danny Miller states, "Cal Ripken, Jr., was one of the most prolific icons of America's favorite pastime. The players of today should emulate his dedication and persistence. He single-handedly saved the game of baseball at a time of great peril," which was the 1994 players' strike.

Ripken was so well respected that during the players' strike of 1994 and the early 1995 lockout, Orioles owner Peter Angelos stated that he would not field a team of replacement players, even if the rest of the league did.

A player that has an impact of that magnitude on both the team and the game of baseball shall always be remembered by me, as well as many others. Bring back the players who play for the love of the game, for that is what sports is all about.