 |
| Cal Ripken waves to the crowd in Toronto on Monday as the Orioles took the field. (AP Photo) |
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 22, 1998; Page C1
TORONTO, Sept. 21 One day after ending his streak of games played, Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken moved past another legendary player Babe Ruth.
Ripken, whose streak of 2,632 games ended Sunday night when he took himself out of the lineup in the Orioles' final home game, had a pair of hits tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays, moving out of a tie with Ruth for 34th place on baseball's all-time hit list.
Maybe Ripken's first day off in 16 years had something to do with his success against Roger Clemens. Regardless, Ripken was one of two Orioles to get more than one hit; Clemens struck out 15 and became the first 20-game winner in the American League, sending the Orioles to a 3-1 loss before 30,380 at SkyDome.
"It felt really good to be back playing again," Ripken said. "I can't say for certain [the day off] was helpful. ... I don't know that we have enough evidence to say that. ... Sometimes you feel a little rusty when you have a day off, but this was not a normal day off, so I don't know if you can judge it."
When Ripken took the field in the first inning, the large video screen played clips of him watching Sunday night's game from the dugout at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The crowd gave Ripken a standing ovation and he responded by waving his hat; third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez walked over and shook hands with Ripken.
Tonight wasn't quite as dramatic and it was devoid of the emotion that was present in games 2,130 and 2,131 of the streak. Ripken hit home runs in those games, in which he tied and then broke the mark of 2,130 held by Lou Gehrig.
Still, it was a momentous occasion when Ripken led off the second inning by grounding a single into left field for his 2,874th career hit, lifting him out of a tie with Ruth, who played with Gehrig.
After striking out in the fourth inning, Ripken led off the sixth by lining a double over left fielder Shannon Stewart and off the fence on one bounce for his 2,875th career hit, moving him within one of Mel Ott for 33rd place.
Ripken grounded out to first base in the eighth inning.
"I knew he'd have a good day," Orioles Manager Ray Miller said. "He swung the bat excellent and was all over everything."
How did Miller know?
"I just knew he would," he said. "You guys have been saying all along it's the streak [that has been bothering him], so he'll play 161 and show you what he can do with one day off."
Making the game a little more unusual, Ripken did not have a ball hit to him at third base.
Ripken walked into the visitors' clubhouse this afternoon dressed in blue jeans, black T-shirt and black shoes. Like every other game day for the past 16 years, he walked over to his locker and began changing into his uniform.
The Orioles' clubhouse was abuzz. Television cameras filmed Ripken talking with teammates and changing into his No. 8 jersey. Teammates were asked their feelings on Ripken's streak, particularly left fielder B.J. Surhoff and first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, now the only Orioles to play in every game.
"I think [the streak] deserves as much attention as possible," said Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick, who was a high school junior when it started. "What he has done for the game, everybody in the game tries to emulate that, as far as his professionalism, going out prepared to win every day. He sets a standard of the highest quality."
So does Clemens. Both he and Orioles starter Scott Erickson (15-13) took advantage of home plate umpire John Hirschbeck's extended strike zone, but it was Clemens who won the battle.
Clemens (20-6) struck out every Orioles starter except for Harold Baines and Palmeiro; Roberto Alomar and Willie Greene struck out three times each. Brady Anderson struck out a third time facing Dan Plesac in the ninth to end the game. It was the 10th time in his career that Clemens has struck out at least 15, although Miller said Hirschbeck had something to do with that.
"He's a great pitcher, but I think that's kind of a joke," said Miller, who said he was contemplating sending a videotape of the game to league officials to show them the reasons for his displeasure. "I can understand the strike zone being a little bit big, but that's ridiculous. There's not very much you can do about it. ... John has always been a big zone guy, but there have to be some limits."
Erickson set a career-high with 12 strikeouts in pitching his league-leading 11th complete game. He gave up solo home runs to Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado in the third inning and the Orioles (78-78) were unable to overcome the 2-0 deficit.
As for Ripken, he and Miller said he will play the Orioles' six remaining games. However, Miller warned against anyone thinking Ripken would start another streak.
"I told him a couple months ago that in my mind," he said, "with 10 or 12 or 15 games of rest over the course of a year I think he will be 10 percent better because he'll be fresher."
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMSxedKrrWiroKS%2Ftb%2BOqKmip5yawHC4zqeerZ2ionxyhZhxZqysopqurLHNnapomaKptqS4xKxmq6GgoLKvfpFnn62l