18 Quotes by Cal Ripken

shocked, surprised, just like everyone else. I hope there's a reason or an explanation.

He's a real person. He was genuine. He was considerate. He was everything a friend should be.

Parents see their pretty talented 7- or 8-year-old, and they immediately want to make him out to be the next Alex Rodriguez. They're seeing an end, and they think they're doing him a service by making him practice, buying a batting cage, not letting him play other sports. It's almost like the parents are seeing that as an investment, and I think that's counterproductive.

We're not trying to measure our success against the Little League, ... but we have the only league that has grown at a 7 percent clip. Our challenge is to keep on growing, and if that happens, we will have plenty more success and get plenty of attention.

This World Series isn't about crowning a champion. I think the kids will remember this as a life experience, ... Not everyone that plays baseball gets the chance to play in a big-league ballpark, but these kids get a feel for what it's like to play in Wrigley Field, what it's like to hit a ball off the Green Monster, how it feels to play at Camden Yards.

When you play for so long, you see it's going to come to an end and you wonder, Is your talent diminishing? Is it a slump? ... He took me aside and told me there was a time in his career when he thought he'd never get another hit. He's certainly one of the better hitting instructors I've ever been around. But psychologically, he started me in the right direction again.

Everywhere you go around the country, people relate to the consecutive games streak in one shape or form, whether it's school or how they approach their job. I'm still pretty amazed that it became a symbol. I didn't think it was that big a deal.

Tonight, I stand here, overwhelmed, as my name is linked with the great and courageous Lou Gehrig, ... I'm truly humbled to have our names spoken in the same breath. Some may think our strongest connection is because we played many consecutive games. Yet I believe in my heart that our true link is a common motivation-a love of the game of baseball, a passion for our team and a desire to compete on the very highest level.

To me, Kirby is at his best sitting at a card table playing cards, talking to him, stories being shared, spending hours and hours with him. He's the same in that little room as he is everywhere else.