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8-02-2007 By ERIC AHLQVIST Editor "When we were on the bus over here on Sunday, Johnny Bench looks out the window and says `Oh my goodness, they"re even sitting in the bushes,"" Gwynn said with a laugh on Monday. Ripken said when he heard the Hall of Famers talking about how many people were in attendance he got goose bumps which never went away. "You try and draw on past experience, but nothing has ever compared to this," said Ripken, who was very emotional during his speech on Sunday. Ripken said he "frontloaded" his speech by talking about his late father, Cal Ripken, Sr. and his family first, so he could try and deliver his message in the second half of his speech. "I choked up a little talking about my dad, but when it came to my kids and wife I almost broke down," Ripken said. During his speech, Ripken said it was after his children (Rachel and Ryan) were born that he started truly understanding the significance of being a positive role model. "Baseball became a platform for me to impact lives in a positive way," he said. On Monday, Ripken said he was glad that other former Orioles now in the Hall of Fame, like Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Brooks Robinson, manager Earl Weaver and Frank Robinson, were all in attendance on Sunday. "I"ve always known one way, and that"s the Oriole Way," Ripken said. "All of those guys embody that style of play and way of handling themselves and I thought it was pretty cool that they were here to share this experience with me." During his speech on Sunday, Gwynn spoke of how he always used to ask questions of Hall of Famers during his playing days. Midway through his 20- year career, Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan told Gwynn to speak to Ted Williams about the art of hitting. "Ted Williams talked to me about trying to drive the inside pitch, and from that point on I tried to do that," Gwynn recalled. "I found out I could hit more home runs and drive in more runs, and still do all the other things I had always done like go the other way and hit the ball up the middle." Gwynn won eight batting titles during his career, all with the San Diego Padres, and both he and Ripken are members of the exclusive 3,000-hit club. On Monday, Gwynn said he always admired Ripken from afar during their playing days, and considered Ripken the leader when it came to treating fans with respect. "We all took notice of that believe me," Gwynn said. "Cal was a great offensive player, and was ahead of his time defensively at shortstop and we all know about the streak. But as great a baseball player as he was, he was an even better person." Joked Ripken: "You should have delivered my speech for me." Ripken said what he always admired about Gwynn is his love for the game. "He had a passion for the game and he still knows all the hitters and players," said Ripken, who had over 400 home runs and 3,000 hits during his career with the Orioles. "He told me that even though he"s not playing anymore he still hasn"t gotten baseball out his system." Ripken played in a record 2,632 straight games during his career, earning the nickname the "Iron man." He said during his speech that he"s no different than teachers and business people and all other people who get up and go to work every day because it"s the right thing to do. "I want to than all of you who show up, work hard and try to make the world a better place," Ripken said. "To me, that"s what life is all about." Note: Sportswriter Jack Hummel was presented the annual Spink Award for journalistic excellence, while broadcaster Denny Mathews won the Frick Award. Like Gwynn and Ripken, both have stayed with the same organization their wholes careers; Matthews 39 years with the Kansas City Royals and Hummel 30 years with the St. Louis Cardinals. |
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