[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 132 (Thursday, October 4, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10337-S10338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRATULATING AND HONORING BALTIMORE ORIOLE CAL RIPKEN, JR.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 168, 
submitted earlier today by Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski, and that the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 168) congratulating and honoring Cal 
     Ripken, Jr., for his amazing and storybook career as a player 
     for the Baltimore Orioles and thanking him for his 
     contributions to baseball, the State of Maryland, and the 
     United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I submitted S. Res. 168 with my 
colleague, Senator Mikulski, honoring Cal Ripken, Jr.
  On Saturday October 6, 2001, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, not far 
from my home in Baltimore, Cal Ripken, Jr. will play in his final 
baseball game. Cal Ripken's career will have spanned 21 seasons in the 
major leagues, every one of them with the Baltimore Orioles. In fact, 
beginning with Cal's father, Cal Ripken, Sr., there has been a Ripken 
in the Orioles organization for 45 consecutive years. Over the past 21 
years, Cal Ripken, Jr. has built what will be a lasting legacy not only 
as one of the greatest players in the history of professional baseball, 
but as a true ambassador of the game and a shining example of 
sportsmanship, character, and the American work ethic.
  An entire generation was born and grew up watching Cal Ripken play 
baseball every day the right way. Many of my constituents in Maryland 
have rooted for the Orioles knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cal 
Ripken would be playing, first at Memorial Stadium and then later at 
Camden Yards, and that they would be able to see Cal give that one game 
everything that he had. Not only will the city of Baltimore miss Cal's 
number 8 on the left-side of the infield and in the heart of the line-
up, but all residents of Maryland, and millions of Americans, from die-
hard baseball fans, to those who have only seen one game, will always 
associate the Baltimore Orioles with their legendary shortstop, Cal 
Ripken.
  Cal Ripken's achievements on the field of play are legendary: Ripken 
is one of only seven players in history to record both 400 home runs 
and 3,000 hits and along with fellow Oriole, longtime teammate, and 
good friend, Eddie Murray, they are the only infielders to accomplish 
this feat. Simply put, Cal redefined the position of shortstop in every 
respect: offense, defense, durability, consistency, and popularity.
  Listing all of Cal's baseball accomplishments could go on forever, 
but there is one record for which he is best known, and that in 
Maryland is simply referred to as ``The Streak.'' For 17 straight 
years, Ripken played in every single game on the Baltimore Orioles' 
schedule, never succumbing to injury or weakness, always willing to do 
his best to help the Orioles over an amazing 2,632 consecutive games. 
It is this consistency and work ethic that has so endeared him to the 
American public, and was so stirringly celebrated on the evening of 
September 6, 1995, the day that he played has 2,131st consecutive game, 
surpassing the record set by the ``Iron Horse,'' Hall-of-Famer Lou 
Gehrig. I will repeat what I said on this very floor on September 7, 
1995: throughout both ``The Streak'' and the rest of Cal's storybook 
career, Cal played baseball for one reason and one reason only: because 
he loves the game. And, Cal, the game loves you.
  When Cal was approaching Mr. Gehrig's record in 1995, it was a 
turbulent time in the history of Major League Baseball; the sport was 
trying to recover from the damage done by a players' strike in the 1994 
season that canceled the World Series for the first time in history. 
There was a breach of trust between the sport and its fans, but there 
is no doubt in anyone's mind that Cal Ripken's journey toward this 
great record was a focus point in the healing process that 
ultimately restored much of the good will lost for America's pastime.

  Ripken, over the course of 21 consecutive seasons, spent hours before 
and after games signing autographs for countless fans. There were jokes 
in the Baltimore clubhouse that if anything were to end ``The Streak,'' 
it would be an injury to his right hand from signing too many 
autographs. But it is this willingness to go the extra mile, to not 
treat his fame and influence as a burden but to welcome his 
responsibility to the public, particularly to children, as a role model 
that distinguishes Cal Ripken from even the greatest athletes and 
enables him to transcend his sport.
  Unlike so many of our modern athletes, Cal Ripken embraced his status 
as a role model. With his wife Kelly by his side, the Ripkens engaged 
in charity work ranging from literacy programs to fighting Lou Gehrig's 
disease, as well as working tirelessly to promote the game of baseball 
to all children, especially those that are disadvantaged. Fittingly, 
one of the many tasks that Cal will devote himself to in his retirement 
is the Cal Ripken Little League Division of Babe Ruth Baseball, which 
has over 700,000 children learning the fundamentals of baseball. 
Another project that Cal will be working on is that of building 
Inspiration Field in his home community of Harford County, Maryland. 
Cal has always been devoted

[[Page S10338]]

to his Maryland roots, but beyond that is his devotion to his family, 
his mother Vi, his late father Cal Ripken, Sr., his wife Kelly, and his 
children Ryan and Rachel. Cal has shown this devotion countless times, 
and I know that in his retirement, Cal, will have more time to enjoy 
the loving family that we are all proud to know simply as the Ripkens.
  But here, as with the statistics and records, listing Cal's 
charitable programs and donations and noting his loving role as son, 
husband, and father, can not fully capture the phenomenal manner in 
which Cal Ripken has lived his life and given back to his community. 
Cal was born in Havre de Grace, MD, and was raised in the neighboring 
City of Aberdeen. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles organization 
in 1978, and spent every year of his professional career, except one, 
playing baseball in the State of Maryland. Cal Ripken's career has been 
the fulfillment of the childhood dream of so many of us, to become an 
athletic superstar and play your entire career for your hometown team. 
And beyond that, Cal Ripken has lived this dream with the dignity, 
honor, humility, charity, passion, and pure love of baseball that make 
myself, the City of Aberdeen, the City of Baltimore, the State of 
Maryland, and the United States of America proud to call Cal a legend 
and a role model for us all. I urge my colleagues to join us in 
honoring and congratulating Cal Ripken's amazing and storybook career 
by saying thank you Cal.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the life and 
career of Cal Ripken. He has given us 21 glorious years--and I know 
that we have seen nothing yet. The resolution that I am introducing 
with Senator Sarbanes seeks to commemorate one of the great careers in 
baseball--and one of the great role models of our time.
  Most Marylanders will confess to some sadness about what will happen 
this weekend. We will see the Iron Man take the field for the last time 
at Camden Yards. But I promise my colleagues--this is not the last you 
will hear of Cal Ripken. He will go on to other careers and other 
challenges. He will continue his extraordinary service to his 
community. He will continue to be someone we can all look up to and 
respect.
  We all know the amazing statistics he compiled in his career. In 
1982, he won Rookie of the Year--and after that, the records kept 
breaking. He set a record for most home runs by a shortstop. He 
received the most Silver Slugger Awards of any shortstop and set eleven 
different fielding records. He was MVP twice during the regular season 
twice, and twice during the All-Star Games. He also amassed over three 
thousand hits and four hundred home runs.
  He is best known for setting the record for most consecutive games 
played. It is unlikely that his record of 2,632 games will ever be 
broken.
  Cal did not do 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 twenty-one 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. Ask the community and charitable organizations who he 
volunteered for. Ask the thousands of children who he helps through his 
foundations.
  Athletes of Cal's caliber often move from town to town and team to 
team. Yet Cal spent his entire career here in Baltimore. He did it for 
his family--his father Cal, Sr.--the great former manager of the 
Orioles. He did it for his children--to enable them to grow up as he 
did--in a community that values faith, family, community and 
patriotism.
  Cal always puts these values into action. He has a passion for 
teaching baseball to children and for his charitable organizations. He 
created ``Reading, Runs and Ripken'' program, the Cal Ripken Little 
League Division, the Kelly and Cal Ripken, Jr., Foundation, and the Cal 
Ripken, Jr./Lou Gehrig ALS Research Fund. These service organizations 
will continue--serving children into the future.
  Cal Ripken is the Iron Man, not because of his streak but because of 
his values, the Oriole way--showing up every day, working hard, playing 
by the rules, putting the team first. Cal will have lots of adulation 
over the next few days--and he absolutely deserves it. But Cal would 
want us to honor him not only with resolutions and parades and cheers 
from the grandstand. He would want us to practice the Oriole way: show 
up, work hard, play by the rules--and put your family and team first.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be added as a 
cosponsor to the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
and preamble be agreed to en bloc; that the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the resolution 
be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 168) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The text of S. Res. 168 is printed in today's Record under 
``Statements on Submitted Resolutions.'')

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