MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 6, 1998

Cal Ripken, Jr.

CAL RIPKEN: Well, my initial opinion is -- my initial feeling is it's a great place. I'd still like to reserve some judgment till you get a chance to get. To get out there, run around the field, get to see the field from the inside out. The first thing I did when I got here today was take a walk right down the tunnel. Was very quiet, no one out in the ballpark yet. Walked out in my street clothes to kind of get a feel for the place. Absolutely beautiful place.

CAL RIPKEN: I'm very curious about that. Light air, the ball carrying further, it looks like big dimensions. I think we'll all look to Mark McGwire to kind of give us an idea how good it carries.

CAL RIPKEN: We make a lot of mistakes on a daily basis. That could be just another one you add to it. The tendency when you go into a place like Fenway Park, Tony Gwynn mentioned it, the walls seem to be so short, you can reach them out and touch them. Consequently, you change your swing, don't hit very good there. That could be a problem here, people trying to get the ball in the area, see what happens, changing the swing a little bit. I think the more times you play, the more you understand to keep it the same.

CAL RIPKEN: No, never.

CAL RIPKEN: Never.

CAL RIPKEN: You know, I really haven't heard a whole lot. I mean, you hear a lot of it about football, when you watch the game of football, how much different it is to come in playing that game. I've never really made the same comparison in baseball. A couple different games. I imagine it affects you in different ways. What are some of the things I should look for? What are some of the symptoms I should look for (laughter)?

CAL RIPKEN: Yes, generally speaking, yes. It has its moments where it's a lot more fun. There's a lot more spring in your step when you're playing on a winning team, competitive team. When the game is simplified to the approach where you ask yourself, what can I do in the course of this game to help us win? It's been great the last couple years. This first half has been very frustrating. Taken some of the zest out of the game. If you look at it in the most simplest form, I love playing baseball, I love putting this uniform on. Yeah, it's as much fun putting the uniform on now as it was before.

CAL RIPKEN: Well, let me first start off by saying, yeah, it's probably a legitimate fear. I had the same fear in Toronto. Coming to the game, hitting almost 350. I had never been that high at that point in the season. I was very fearful that any change of my approach would affect my swing. But I went into the home run hitting contest, just tried to do the best you could. All of a sudden, yeah, it did catapult me a little bit. Gave me a little extra boost. I think when you look at it from a marketing sense or from a fan sense, it's such a positive thing. It creates such great attention that you want to be in that situation. I think if you really look at it from a player's standpoint, saying, "Yeah, it might be a little bit -- I might feel sore tomorrow, or I'm fearful that I might mess up my swing," but it's repairable if any of those things happen. You can look at it as a win win. It's an opportunity for you to stand out there in front of everybody. Doesn't mean you can't hit home runs if you don't hit it in those ten swings in the competition. If you do get on a roll, everyone is capable of getting on a roll, it's such a positive thing all the way around for baseball and you individually, I wouldn't see why people wouldn't want to do that.

CAL RIPKEN: Why do you think baseball is much more popular in the All-Star Game than other sports. I don't know if I could say that. I don't know if that's true. I think the popularity of the baseball and the All-Star Game goes way back. This is baseball's opportunity for an event. The nature of baseball itself is on a day-to-day basis where you play, you play so many games that it doesn't take on the advance status, it takes on an everyday feeling. Football, on the other hand, every Sunday I think turns out to be an event. There's a buildup all week long, match-up that you can talk about baseball, you don't have that opportunity. The All-Star Game, and probably the World Series, are the two closest things to the events. I just remember having a party or a barbecue when my dad was managing the Minor Leagues. We'd all get together and sit around the TV and watch the All-Star Games. I think it makes you feel good, something about the middle of summer that brings everyone together. It's the focal point. I can't really understand in-depth all the popularity. I see some really cool things about it.

CAL RIPKEN: The caliber of talent in that room. We just had a team meeting. Sitting around looking at the kind of talent that's assembled in that room, it's the very best. So, I mean, when you look at it that way, the Hall of Fame represents the very best. I think it represents the very best over a long period of time. A lot can couple to shorten people's careers. Those guys in that room have an opportunity to put up tremendous numbers. A lot of them, you know, no doubt would be in the Hall of Fame.

CAL RIPKEN: Well, I mean, I try to keep it -- keep perspective, keep the most simple approach. On the baseball player, I'm considered the everyday baseball player, third baseman for the Orioles. On this day, it's to come out to help us win. I come to the ballpark to a simple approach. The manager is making his lineup, thinking I can be one of the guys that can help us win, I'll play. The streak itself can be analyzed, dissected, opinions can be formed in all different directions. But I don't worry about all that kind of stuff. I worry about the thing that matters most, my approach to the game, it's my job. So, when that happens, when the streak happens, it will take care of itself. The situation will present itself, which will make sense, and it will happen. I can't tell you how it would happen. It's not going to go on forever.

CAL RIPKEN: Well, in a very simple way, a lot of people liked you enough to vote for you. The popularity goes beyond I guess someone liking you. You have to maybe stand for something, you have to be good for a period of time. You have to do something that people like. I think it's really -- when you get a lot of votes in the All-Star Game, it makes you feel good that you've accomplished something, you know, in the game. Ken Griffey, Jr., he is the game. I mean, he's such a talented player, we all marvel his ability to go out there and play, the things that he does. When you think about baseball, you think about this time frame, you can't help but think about Ken Griffey. He should be very honored and very thankful that everybody holds him in that high regard?

CAL RIPKEN: It's a very high compliment that they say I set the standard. I was one of the guys that maybe opened up an opportunity for a bigger shortstop. There were guys before me that opened up the opportunity for me. Robin Yount and Alan Trammell, some of the offense that they were able to put up on the board, opened up the possibility for someone to consider a shortstop that could hit and also could field his position. When I came along, physically size became an issue. I was able to figure out how to play and play pretty well. A new group of guys coming in, you can't say enough good things about those guys. They are the example of what a two-way player is all about. Their skills offensively are at the top of their game. Their skills defensively are at the top. We can sit back and watch them for many, many years. It's a great bunch of guys.

CAL RIPKEN: I've had a very fulfilling career. I feel very fortunate in a lot of ways. To have the opportunity to come to so many All-Star Games is one of those great experiences, just goes along with everything else. The All-Star Game is different. I've always enjoyed the experience of being able to talk to other players, share stories, be in the same clubhouse, celebrate baseball in the way that baseball celebrates, be a part of the celebration every summer. So I'm thankful for it. It's always an honor to be here, no matter how many times you come. It's always an honor to be here at the All-Star Game.

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