The Pride of Baltimore

One of my birthday presents was hearing that Cal Ripken was elected into the Hall of Fame. They made the announcement on January 9 that he and Tony Gwynn (who played his whole career with the San Diego Padres) will be enshrined at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, this summer.

Of course it was not a surprise birthday present. It was a foregone conclusion that Cal would be in the Hall of Fame even when we was still playing. He is only one of 8 players to have at least 400 home runs and 3000 hits. He still holds the record for the most home runs hit by a shortstop. Of course, he holds the record for playing in the most consecutive games (2632), shattering the record previous held by Lou Gehrig at 2130. He also won two MVP awards.

He was a joy to watch during his playing career. The Orioles did not have too much team success while he was playing. During his second full season, the Orioles won the World Series. They did not return to the playoffs until 1996 and 1997, and haven't been back since. He gave me a reason to go to the games during these lean years. You always knew you could count on Cal.

Cal got the 3rd highest percentage for being voted into the Hall of Fame. Amazingly, 8 voters did not think Cal was worthy of being elected.

Many credit Cal for "saving baseball". His pursuit of Gehrig's record captivated the imagination of every fan. However, those who loved him most were the Baltimore faithful. After the Baltimore Colts left town in 1984, he was all Baltimore had left to call its own. He was a hometown boy (from nearby Aberdeen) and his father was involved with the organization many years before he put on the orange and black.

His induction comes the same week that the Colts return to town. The INDIANAPOLIS Colts are being hosted by the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. It isn't the first time the Colts have returned to Baltimore, but it will be the first time the Colts have played their successors, the Ravens, in the playoffs. Many in Baltimore will have mixed feelings about this. The Colts were the pride of Baltimore when they were there. I remember visiting relatives as a kid, and many of them had pictures of the great Johnny Unitas, the quarterback of team, on their wall.

In 1984, the Colts were stolen from Baltimore by Robert Irsay, who was the owner at the time. In the middle of night, Irsay packed up the team in Mayflower moving trucks and headed to Indianapolis. In 1996, Baltimore got football back in the form of the Ravens. The irony is that they got a team in a similar way the Colts left. Another greedy owner, Art Modell, owned the Cleveland Browns and took them from Cleveland and moved them to Baltimore. Fortunately for Cleveland, the name Browns, the team colors, and the history stayed in Cleveland. Today the Browns are again in Cleveland thanks to the expansion of the NFL in 1999.

Unfortunately for Baltimore, their beloved Colts are no longer their own. They are somebody else's. This weekend, fans will be searching their hearts on who to root for.

Thanks to God that they still have Cal.