Cal Ripken Jr. comes to Blacksburg

By Nathan Warters
Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 12, 2008

BLACKSBURG - Cal Ripken, Jr.‘s selflessness is what won him over with fans during his 21-year Hall of Fame baseball career. It’s also what endeared him to Virginia Tech’s baseball team and more than 300 Hokies supporters Monday night.
Ripken, best known for his record 2,632 consecutive game streak, normally requires a hefty fee for one of his corporate speeches. He appeared free of charge as the keynote speaker at Tech’s first “Baseball Night in Blacksburg” fundraiser.

“This guy came here. Never asked for a nickel,“ Hokies baseball coach Pete Hughes said. “He requested that he meet with our team before for 45 minutes. That blew me away.“

Ripken’s appearance was a favor to a couple of friends with Hokies connections. One of Ripken’s buddies, a Tech alum, flew him to and from Baltimore on his private plane. Ripken’s former Baltimore Orioles teammate, Al Bumbry, has a son, Steve, who plays outfield for the Hokies.

The fundraiser was held in a luxury box at Lane Stadium. Ripken spoke for about 20 minutes to the donors, most of whom paid $75 for tickets. Some paid $1,600 for a set of eight tickets and a private reception with baseball’s “Iron Man.“

The money raised will benefit Tech’s baseball program.

Ripken, 47, shared his eight keys to success in his speech. Those eight principles are the basis of his new book, “Get in the Game: The Eight Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference.“

He included some baseball anecdotes. He recalled some lessons learned from his late father, Cal Ripken, Sr., who spent almost four decades in professional baseball.

“Of all the things that dad gave me in my life, the sense of conviction was one of the most important,“ said Ripken, who retired from the major leagues in 2001 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year. “What I mean by that is, when you feel you are right, you have to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in. Even though other people might be weakening around you, you have to be strong when they are weak.

“The consecutive game streak wasn’t always a happy celebration. Many times I was criticized for being selfish, for putting the streak ahead of the team and those sorts of things. I thought that was so wrong, because really I played the game for one reason. My approach was simple. I came to the ballpark, put myself in the hands of the manager and said, ‘I want to play.‘ And if the manager responded by putting me in the lineup, I played. Simple as that.“

Ripken met privately with the Tech baseball team before speaking to the donors. He spoke for a while and then took questions from the players.

“The room was completely silent. Everybody was just in awe of his presence,“ senior co-captain Sean O’Brien said. “Once he started speaking, we realized how easy he was to talk to. ... It was a blast just to have him to ourselves for a little bit.“