[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 138 (Thursday, September 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12754-S12756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRATULATING CAL RIPKEN, JR., ON BREAKING THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES PLAYED
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from
Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Arizona for yielding. He
knows why I rise on the Senate floor today. It is because, in behalf of
myself and Senator Sarbanes, as well as our colleagues from the other
side of the Potomac, Senators Warner and Robb, I send to the desk a
resolution congratulating Cal Ripken, Jr., on the occasion of breaking
the Major League baseball record for consecutive games played, and I
now ask for its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 167) congratulating Cal Ripken, Jr.,
on the occasion of his breaking the Major League baseball
record for the highest total number of consecutive games
played.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the resolution?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I would also further like to thank the
Republican leader, Senator Dole, for allowing the Senate to have no
more votes after 5:30 last night so those Senators who were fortunate
enough to have tickets to the game could get there to be there on time,
to hear the national anthem sung, and Mr. Ripken's children throw out
the ceremonial first ball and to see America as it really ought to be.
So I would like to thank the majority leader for the courtesy that he
extended to me and to the other Senators.
Mr. President, it is with pride and enthusiasm that I rise today to
honor a baseball hero, a Maryland hero, and an American hero. Last
night Cal Ripken, Jr., broke baseball's endurance record. Cal Ripken
played in his 2,131 consecutive ballgame, and in doing so, he broke Lou
Gehrig's record in consecutive games played. Yes, Cal surpassed the
great Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, by playing 2,131 straight games. Cal has
started every game as a Baltimore Oriole player since May 30, 1982.
Now, Cal has achieved many honors already, in his career: Two league
Most Valuable Player awards, 13 All-Star games, and two Golden Glove
awards. These are just a few of his many accomplishments. His streak is
astounding for the character and the commitment it represents. To the
people from Maryland like me, the streak means so much more, though,
than physical endurance and awards. For us, Cal's effort is a testimony
to what someone can achieve when they put team interests ahead of self
interests.
Cal has not done this just for the sake of breaking a record; he
broke that record because that is how he lives. He gives 100 percent
every day. Ask any of the hundreds of Baltimore Orioles, who played
with him over the last 14 years. Ask Cal's coaches who have seen him
rededicate himself every day. Ask any of the thousands and thousands
and even millions of Orioles fans for whom he stayed at the ballpark
late at night, willing to sign autographs, appear at charity events and
be
[[Page S 12755]]
there for Baltimore and be there for the Orioles. Ask any of the
millions of baseball fans who have watched him handle himself with
dignity, who have watched him handle himself with gallantry on the
playing field and off the playing field. We have watched him also treat
others with dignity throughout his career. And, you know, if you ask
Cal why he did it, he will tell you he wants to give his team the best
chance of winning each and every game, and give the game the good name
that it deserves.
Mr. President, this celebration is not for Cal alone but also for the
man who held that record for so many years. Lou Gehrig represented the
same qualities that we look for in Cal Ripken. It is words like
masculine virtue, honor, integrity, being with your team, standing up
for what is right. The Lou Gehrig record had really helped create a
Yankee dynasty, and Lou Gehrig was the major reason for that dynasty.
Lou Gehrig was in a class all by himself. He will always be a champion
and have a unique place in baseball.
It was thought during Gehrig's time that the record would never be
broken. However, I believe that if Lou Gehrig were alive today he would
admire Cal Ripken and see a man following in his footsteps, putting
pain and self-interest aside, and see a man working harder than anyone
else. He would see Cal Ripken trying to be the best player and the best
person he could be, and I believe that the ``Pride of the Yankees''
would tip his hat in respect for the ``Pride of the Orioles.''
Mr. President, I believe that people in positions of public trust
should serve as role models for young people. I believe this includes
athletes and public officials. So, today, I am proud to say that some
of Cal's greatest achievements have actually come off the field. He is
a role model for kids. When so many are teaching the philosophy of
``me, only,'' he represents the philosophy of ``we, together.''
Also, he represents the philosophy of giving your time to your
community. His efforts at raising financial resources to fight
pediatric cancer at Johns Hopkins--on the night that he tied the Gehrig
record, Baltimore raised over $1 million to give to Johns Hopkins for
research on the Lou Gehrig disease. That is what Cal Ripken is. And,
most important, Cal is a loving father, husband and son.
It is fair to say that the streak does not end when Cal steps off the
field. The field is only where it begins.
So on behalf of all Marylanders and the Nation's baseball fans, I
want to congratulate Cal Ripken for his achievement. Maryland and
America are proud of him. Today is Cal's day. And in Baltimore and in
his hometown of Aberdeen, it is ``Calleluia Day.'' So to commemorate
his record, I am submitting this Senate resolution along with my
colleagues to honor this remarkable achievement.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, last night, September 6, 1995, at Oriole
Park at Camden Yards, not far from my home in Baltimore, Cal Ripken
broke baseball's most enduring record of consecutive games played. In
surpassing Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 games, Cal Ripken has secured a
place in sports history, and in the hearts and minds of all who love
baseball.
This accomplishment is much more than an event to be chronicled in
the record books; it is a tribute to Cal Ripken's dedication to
excellence--excellence in athletics as well as excellence in
sportsmanship. In a time bereft of heroes, we admire persons such as
Cal Ripken who exemplify high standards. Cal plays for the love of the
game. He does not play for the fame; he cares little about the glory.
What he does care about is playing baseball to his fullest potential.
His affection for the game shines like a beacon in the night. His love
of the game and his dedication has led him to this record. Neither
money nor fame could have guided him to such a pinnacle in his career.
We call baseball our national pastime. But for many of us it is much
more than that. It brings us back to an era where the players were
larger than life and inspired us to the same greatness. When players
like Gehrig rambled out onto the field they were more than men: they
were heroes. At a time when people are searching for heroes, Cal Ripken
stands proudly and quietly at the forefront of those we have to offer
our children. He is a man of dignity, quiet workmanship, and humility.
It is in keeping with these qualities that his children, Rachel and
Ryan, threw out the first pitches to the game that would assure that
their father crossed the threshold from extraordinary player to a
legend.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an editorial, lauding Cal
Ripken's streak and his character, from the September 6, 1995, edition
of the Baltimore Sun, as well as Cal Ripken's statement and excerpts
from remarks presented by his teammate Brady Anderson, be printed in
the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Baltimore Sun, Sept. 6, 1995]
Our Cal
Somewhere in this favored city, we should like to think,
today a male infant is being born, and named Cal.
Somewhere, as the possibilities grow, a court of law is
approving a grown-up's change of name to become Mr., Mrs. or
Ms. Calripken.
Fielding still another dream--from a window at 2131 East or
West Baltimore Street, or 2131 Maryland Avenue, a banner
flies: black background, large yellow numeral 8.
In the distance: north and east of Baltimore, traffic on
U.S. 40 is backed up for miles, by the street dancing in
Ripkentown, formerly Aberdeen.
Politics enters, the governor of California vowing that,
once elected president, he will change the postal
abbreviation out there from CA to CAL.
Hold on--back at that Baltimore maternity ward, it turns
out instead to be twins; girls, yet. Okay, their names will
be Callie and Vinnie.
To be a Baltimorean is to feel, right now, exalted. Some
1,525 daily newspapers are still published in this country
and every last one, it may well be, will print a news story
tomorrow that is datelined Baltimore--a great-news, feel-
wonderful story.
The news is of a new endurance mark, one that won't be
outdone until the 2000s, if then; a mark set by a Baltimore
Oriole, by a man who as a major leaguer has played only for
our Orioles. Season after season, starting in 1982, our tall
shortstop has never missed a game. His bones refused to
crack; his joints, on being wrenched, simply unwrenched; his
sinews (no matter how hard he flung the ball over to first)
never tore. People applaud Cal's upbringing; a further help
from family is that while the Birds were on the road, no call
came to be present instead for wedding or funeral. The nation
that reads, or watches some announcer read, will long equate
the name Ripken with stoic, determined toughness.
For there to be interest in continuity, a sport has to have
gone on awhile; only in the current century did baseball's
busy statisticians, checking for uninterrupted participation,
proclaim their first durability champ--at 727 consecutive
pennant-season games, Steve Brodie, centerfielder for the
1890s Baltimore Orioles. The original games-in-a-row search,
however, had to do with base hits. There the original
titleholder, at 44 games, proved to be Willie Keeler,
rightfielder for the 1890s Orioles.
Is perseverance a municipal characteristic? Let others
say--watching us struggle, even now, to get the world to
spell Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. correctly.
With Cal Ripken, just as much off the diamond as on,
another quality shines. Put it this way, as the Camden
Warehouse banner signals 2131: What a city this would be,
what a state, were those of us watching and cheering to go
forth, afterward, bent on creating some kind of excellence
and decency streak of our own.
____
Text of Ripken's Speech
After last night's record-breaking game, Cal Ripken
delivered the following speech:
When the game numbers on the warehouse changed during fifth
innings over the past several weeks, the fans in this
ballpark responded incredibly. I'm not sure that my reactions
showed how I really felt. I just didn't know what to do.
Tonight, I want to make sure you know how I feel. As I grew
up here, I not only had dreams of being a big-league
ballplayer, but also of being a Baltimore Oriole. As a boy
and a fan, I know how passionate we feel about baseball and
the Orioles here. And as a player, I have benefited from this
passion.
For all of your support over the years. I want to thank
you, the fans of Baltimore, from the bottom of my heart. This
is the greatest place to play.
This year has been unbelievable. I've been cheered in
ballparks all over the country. People not only showed me
their kindness, but more importantly, they demonstrated their
love of the game of baseball. I give my thanks to baseball
fans everywhere.
I also could express my gratitude to a number of
individuals who have played a role in my life and my career,
but if I try to mention them all, I might unintentionally
miss someone and take more time than I should.
There are, however, four people I want to thank especially.
Let me start by thanking
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my dad. He inspired me with his commitment to the Oriole tradition and
made me understand the importance of it. He not only taught
me the fundamentals of baseball, he taught me to play it the
right way, the Oriole way. From the very beginning, my dad
let me know how important it was to be there for your team
and to be counted on by your teammates.
My mom, what can I say about my mom? She is an unbelievable
person. She let my dad lead the way on the field, but she was
there in every other way--leading and shaping the lives of
our family off the field. She's the glue who held our lives
together while we grew up, and she's always been my
inspiration.
Dad and Mom laid the foundation for my baseball career and
my life, and when I got to the big leagues, there was a man--
Eddie Murray--who showed me how to play this game, day in and
day out. I thank him for his example and for his friendship.
I was lucky to have him as my teammate for the years we were
together, and I congratulate him on the great achievement of
3,000 hits this year.
As my major-league career moved along, the most important
person came into my life--my wife, Kelly. She has enriched it
with her friendship and with her love. I thank you, Kelly,
for the advice, support, and joy you have brought to me, and
for always being there. You, Rachel and Ryan are my life.
These people, and many others, have allowed me, day in and
day out, to play the American game of baseball.
Tonight I stand here, overwhelmed, as my name is linked
with the great and courageous Lou Gehrig. I'm truly humbled
to have our names spoken in the same breath.
Some may think our strongest connection is because we both
played many consecutive games. Yet I believe in my heart that
our true link is a common motivation--a love of the game of
baseball, a passion for our team, and a desire to compete on
the very highest level.
I know that if Lou Gehrig is looking down on tonight's
activities, he isn't concerned about someone playing one more
consecutive game than he did. Instead, he's viewing tonight
as just another example of what is good and right about the
great American game. Whether your name is Gehrig or Ripken:
Dimaggio or Robinson; or that of some youngster who picks up
his bat or puts on his glove: You are challenged by the game
of baseball to do your very best day and day out. And that's
all I've ever tried to do.
Thank you.
____
Anderson's Tribute
Excerpts from the speech Brady Anderson delivered on behalf
of Orioles players after last night's game:
For 14 years, Cal Ripken has played for the Orioles with
skill, determination and dedication. His inspiration has
always been a love for the game, his teammates and the
devoted fans of Baltimore.
The record which has been broken today speaks volumes about
a man who never unduly focused on this achievement, but
accomplished it through years of energy, incredible inner
resources and an unflagging passion for the sport.
But fame is a dual-edged sword, and his is no exception.
Incredible pressure has been placed on Cal as it became
increasingly apparent that this achievement could be
realized. In breaking this record, he surpasses the playing
streak of Lou Gehrig, an exceptional baseball player.
I know Cal is honored to be in the company of such a
legend, just as we know that each man's accomplishments and
contributions enhance, rather than diminish, the other's; for
what finer tribute can one player give to another than his
uncompromising excellence?
Cal, you have inspired many teammates; you have delighted
million of fans; you have given the nation uncountable
memories. Your pride in and love for the game are at a level
few others will reach. Cal, thank you.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the front page of today's Washington Post
says it all: ``History Embraces Ripken.'' As an original cosponsor of
the resolution just submitted by my friend and colleague from Maryland,
Senator Mikulski, I applaud Cal Ripken, Jr.'s magnificent
accomplishment.
Last night's recordbreaking achievement by Ripken restored America's
love for and pride in our national pastime, but it was not just a
victory for baseball. What we are celebrating is not just Ripken's
2,131st consecutive game, or the home run which punctuated it so
perfectly.
Rather, Cal Ripken, Jr.'s achievement is about greatness, about the
essence of being and being an American. Cal Ripken, Jr. is a modest
hero, a humble role model, a decent citizen, a caring father, a loving
husband. He is committed to his craft, his community, and his country.
Yes, history has embraced Cal Ripken, Jr. But, more importantly, he
has reminded Americans to celebrate all that is good about themselves
and their country.
Congratulations to Cal, to his family, and to a Nation of friends who
share his ideals.
Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the extraordinary
accomplishments of Cal Ripken, Jr. As we all know, last night at Oriole
Park at Camden Yards, Cal Ripken broke a record that was once
considered unbreakable.
From 1982 until today, the one constant in the ever-changing world of
baseball has been the presence of No. 8 in the Baltimore Orioles line-
up. In an era where job insecurities increasingly permeate our society,
Cal Ripken's breaking of Lou Gehrig's long-standing record while
playing for the same team during the entire streak, seems even more
remarkable.
Without a doubt, this new record has reinvigorated American's
interest in baseball. And the fact that the record-holder is such a
solid, decent, and humble man adds extra luster to this unprecedented
achievement.
While this record is an extraordinary testament to Cal Ripken's
dedication to the game of baseball, his actions during the closing days
of this streak are even more telling. In the early morning of September
6, 1995, as Cal stood poised on the edge of baseball immortality, he
accompanied his daughter Rachel to her first day of school. And when
asked which event held more significance--the breaking of Lou Gehrig's
record or his daughter's first day of school--Cal responded that in his
house, Rachel's first day of school was undoubtedly the most important
occasion.
I congratulate Cal Ripken, his wife Kelly, daughter Rachel, and son
Ryan. Cal Ripken has made Americans remember why baseball is our
national pastime--and how much true heroes mean to us.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I urge all of my colleagues to join in the celebration
by adopting this resolution.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the resolution.
The resolution (S. Res. 167) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:
S. Res. 167
Whereas on May 30, 1982, Cal Ripken, Jr. became the regular
starting shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles baseball club;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. has not missed a single day of work
in the intervening 14 years;
Whereas on September 6, 1995, Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his
2,131st consecutive Major League Baseball game, breaking the
long-standing record held by the great Lou Gehrig;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. has been a first-rate role model
for the young people of Baltimore, the State of Maryland, and
the United States;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. has been named by America's
baseball fans to 13 American League All-Star teams;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. was named the American League's
Most Valuable Player for the 1983 and 1991 seasons;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. was a member of the 1983 World
Series Champion Baltimore Orioles baseball team;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. was named the Most Valuable Player
in the 1991 All-Star game;
Whereas Cal Ripken, Jr. has twice been awarded baseball's
most prestigious award for excellence in fielding, the Gold
Glove Award, for the 1991 and 1992 seasons;
Whereas in the distinguished career of Cal Ripken, Jr., he
has demonstrated an extraordinary work ethic, and dedication
to his profession, his family, and his fans; and
Whereas the humility, hard work, desire, and commitment of
Cal Ripken, Jr. have made him one of the best-loved and the
most enduring figures in the history of the game of baseball:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the United States Senate congratulates Cal
Ripken, Jr. for his outstanding achievement in becoming the
first player in the history of Major League Baseball to
compete in 2,131 consecutive games.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that
motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Thank you, Mr. President.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________