Ripken Media Session, 4/6/95, Sarasota, FL
"I am announcing that I am gonna try to play basketball professionally."
"I am leaving baseball as of now."
(On whether he is happy that there is not going to be any controversy about the Spring and just go on as planned.)
"Yes"
"I am glad that we don't have to worry about how to sort through the history of baseball and what replacement baseball means."
"I am glad we're back playing baseball again and we won't have to worry about that. I won't have to worry about it personally. Maybe we won't have to worry about it collectively."
(On whether he is prepared to handle the type of attention he will be getting all season and if he realizes how tough that's going to be in addition to playing baseball.)
"No"
"I wish I had a good answer for you. I wish I could tell you this is the way I am going to handle it and this is the way I am going to try to play baseball. I am going to try to do the best I can at retaining my focus on baseball and try to approach this season just like I've done every other season and as corny as it may sound and I've said it a zillion times, I try to take it day by day, because I am not good at looking too far ahead. I do that with baseball and how I handle certain things I will try to do it as best I can...with the same kind of philosophy and the same kind of logic...take it one day at a time...I might handle it terribly...I might handle it o.k...I don't know."
"I hope that our team will win and the whole focus be turned to our team's chances of winning the pennant and the fact that we're winning and that we're on top. That would be a nice wish."
(On whether he thinks the competitive balanced has switched around in regards to salary caps and tax situations, New York Yankees were used as an example with their $55-$60 million bracket.)
"You're asking me questions that I may not be smart enough to answer."
"If you're equating competitive balance to payrolls, I am sure there could be all kinds of arrangements both ways, whatever else."
"I personally think that although payroll or money is a nice tool to use, you gotta have real good baseball decisions and you have to run your operation in a baseball way and that's the secret to winning, as opposed to who has the highest payroll...and it's been proven that the biggest market teams don't always win".
(On whether it was hard for him to handle all the concentration on his record through the entire work stoppage with players speaking out on its importance)
"I felt a little bit uncomfortable becoming a focus, as it was."
"I felt uncomfortable about it being an issue of collective bargaining."
"I felt uncomfortable about it being an issue about replacement baseball."
"I guess if I had my choice I'd rather not had been involved at all, but I guess the way I understand it all was that through all this difficulties, maybe my situation in particular, I became a symbol or became symbolic of how we all feel about baseball down deep inside."
(Speaking about the players union considering giving him permission to cross the picket line had the Orioles fielded a replacement team).
"I was never approached by the union at all about my individual situation. I didn't think it was right to be approached and the only time that it was discussed, to my knowledge was when I was in a meeting in New York and it was a regional meeting...and I let everyone know how I felt and that was it, so I don't know what was talked about outside of my presence, but my situation should never be an issue of collective bargaining. It is an individual situation and the association looks out for everyone collectively and not one person individually, so that was a pretty easy thing for me."
(On how baseball goes about reselling itself and starting to market the number one thing that it does have and that is the baseball players themselves.)
"I am just a baseball player...I am just a shortstop...I don't have all the answers and I guess like everyone else I have opinions. Sometimes I find that my opinions are better served within my own self."
"I don't know...I'd like to think that I am a fan of baseball as much as I am a player...I always have been and I've had the great fortune of growing up to be a professional baseball player, but being a member of the Orioles was what I always wanted to be. I care about baseball and I want to see baseball flourish and I think baseball is special, so I think you should never lose track of the fact that baseball is special, it is our national pastime. I don't know what specifically to do, but we have to do some things. I guess as a baseball fan I'd like to see just baseball get its act together and bring more stability to the sport and not have collective bargaining issues interfere with the sport. How do you do that? Somebody else a lot smarter than I, would have to figure that out."
"Baseball's a great game. We know it's a great game and we all feel strongly about its history and about what has happened and I am sure there's ways to do it, but again I am just a shortstop and I don't have all the answers."
(On being as much a fan as a player, what does he see as the historical significance of the streak).
"The historical significance of the streak to me...Wow, did I get myself in for that one, didn't I."
"To me, I was raised with a work ethic and an approach in baseball or team sports in general, that the object of the team sport is to go out and try to win and help yourself win and do whatever it takes to win and it's important for you to rely on and count on your teammates to make that all happen...and so therefore, it was important for me to be counted on by my teammates to be in the lineup everyday and so by working from the premise I approach each and every game with the fact that I am proud of the streak, for the reasons that my teammates can count on me to be in the line up and hopefully help do something during the course of the game that is going to help us win. If somebody else can help our team win better than I can, then they should be playing before me. Simply put, I come to the ballpark ready to play, wanting to play, if the manager who's in charge decides he wants to put me in and wants me to play, then I will. That's the way I've always approached it, that's the significance of the streak to me. The fact that we keep track of records and consecutive games and all that kind of stuff, I guess that's part of the beauty of the sport We are able to compare it to different times and we're able to go from year to year and do those kinds of things. We are able to keep statistics and interpret statistics and do all those kinds of things. That's all fun to be able to try to interpret statistics and make comparisons, but for me the streak is just an extension of my approach and my belief and I've been lucky enough to be in a situation and fourteen years later here I am."
(On whether he has ever sat down with himself and his family and thought about how long he'd like to play or is he just gonna play until it's not fun anymore.)
"I'd like to play as long as they allow me to play."
"I hope it doesn't end where they have to force me out the door, but at the same time you only have a small window and maybe if you play 20 years someone will think that's a big window or if Brooks Robinson, who played 23 years or some of the great players that had an opportunity to have really full careers, that's still a small window of opportunity for your entire life, so I think you should play as long as your physically able to, as long as you can remain competitive and as long as you can do the job and there's a role for you. That's what my plans are."
(On whether he could ever see himself being a part time player.)
"At this stage, I hope I am not a part time player this year."
"Baseball and life itself are full of adjustments and if that had to occur and I had to make that adjustment, I'd like to think that I could."
(On what he thought of Peter Angelos' position against using replacement players and Mr. Angelos' public pronouncements that he wouldn't do anything that would endanger Cal's streak.)
"Personally, I think it's commendable that he acted on his beliefs and even though I became part of that or the streak became part of that I would still like to believe that my particular situation wasn't the motivating reason why he took the stand that he took."
(On whether the streak has made him want to read more about Lou Gehrig and if so, what Cal admires and respects about Lou Gehrig.)
"Early on, I can't tell you when, it sparked a curiosity in Lou Gehrig, but then, when people kind of played into that curiosity and I started to get a book or an article or something about him or someone would tell stories about him I started to turn away from learning more about him so it wouldn't envelope my life."
"I guess our similarities are the fact that maybe we shared a similar work ethic and the fact that we were lucky to be in a position to continue to play as many games. I consider him a great player, I don't consider myself a great player and think the comparison kind of ends when you start talking about baseball. He was a first baseman, I think he was a first baseman and I was a shortstop and his batting, talent and ability to hit undoubtedly goes a lot farther than my abilities, but the fact that we're tied together with a consecutive game streak, I think that the work ethic is probably where the comparison really ends."
(On how important it is for him to break the streak at home.)
"I try not to look so far ahead and I try not to place a lot of importance in the event or the streak, probably as a way to insulate me and protect me and allow me to focus."
"Understanding my dreams as a kid, I grew up in the Baltimore area, not only did I want to be a baseball player when I grew up I wanted to be a baseball player for the Orioles."
"I live there, I am going to raise my family there. Baltimore is very important to me. If this was going to be a special celebration, if this was gonna happen, then naturally of course I'd want to do it at home."
"It would mean a lot to me to be able to share that with people that are close to me."
(On what he says to his kids when they want to know if their father ever gets a day off.)
"I am open for suggestions if anyone knows how to answer that."
"I hope I am able to communicate to them a level of commitment and importance in what you do, far beyond what baseball is. Maybe how they apply it and what their interested in...I am learning as a father everyday."
(On how, if any, his life will change after he surpasses the record.)
"I can't predict...I can't fathom and I don't even know...I would need a lot of help from you guys...I guess I refuse to think about it. Whatever happens I will deal with it as best I can and try to do it that way."
(On whether, going into this season, he expressed a little apprehension maybe not wanting to deal with this [streak] on a daily or series basis.)
"No apprehension."
"I guess in some ways I wish that I wouldn't receive so much attention for it, but I understand that to a degree what the importance of it is and I accept that."
"The toughest thing that I have to do is try to maintain a focus and try to do what I do.""I'll be as accommodating as I can."
(On whether the streak excites him in a positive way, knowing the streak is now getting the reverence it deserves.)
"It's easier to deal with when you don't have to defend the position that you want to play. That was the most difficult part of the streak when your struggling and when your not hitting well and it's frustrating enough not to hit well, but it's even more frustrating to defend your desire to want to be in the lineup or defend the reason you're in the lineup."
"The manager makes out his lineup card every single day and decides what team he can put on the field that is best to get a win and if my name is on that card then I am going to be playing."
"It is positive and easier to deal with...It seems like its gathered some positive momentum and maybe that's the reason that I've become more at peace in dealing with it or accepting that it ever exists. I think I fought it for years; that it wasn't my overall identity and it wasn't something I set out to do."
"I think I've accepted it's a part of what's going on and I still have to try to concentrate on doing what I do and that's playing on a daily basis."
(On what he thinks is the hardest part about playing every day.)
"There's physical demands, but probably the hardest part is the mental side, being able to convince yourself that you can play every day."
"When your doing anything day after day after day after day, you have to figure a way to keep a certain level of focus a certain level of concentration."
"You can't get too high when your on a hot streak and you can't get too low when your on a low streak."
"Physically you have to be lucky and have to be able to play through some injuries, but mentally you have to able to stay focused and be able to play every day. So the demands mentally are a little bit harder than physically."
(On whether there has been a day[s] when he was mentally tested about playing that day.)
"The mental part seems to fall into place if you've done it. Once you've done it, then you've convinced yourself that you can do it. There's gonna be days when your concentration is gonna be superior and there's gonna be days when your concentration is not going to be quite 100%. Those are the days where you recognize and say, {O.K., let's go.}"
"You motivate yourself to concentrate a little harder, keep your mind on what's going on. You've worked a little bit harder to keep that focus."
"Once you've played all the games in a season and once you've been able to get through and do it and perform on a consistent basis, from day one all the way to the end, then half the battle's over 'cause you know you can do it. There's no longer a question whether your capable. Then once that's over, then it's just a matter of you telling yourself on the days that you need to focus, you need to kick yourself in."
"But there are gonna be days when physically your gonna be 100% and your gonna have the worst days of your career. There gonna be days when your 60% physically and you might have the best days of your career. And the same could be true for concentration, you could feel great walking on the field and mentally you say {God, I am concentrating really good, I am seeing really well} then again you don't get any hits or you don't really do what your gonna do. Those days you gotta say, [God, I really gotta kick myself and get myself in gear. Magically something falls together and your able to do it. I wish I had the exact answer or the exact formula for success on a daily basis, but I don't."
(On whether he finds himself thinking about what it was like for Lou Gehrig.)
"I think it would be interesting to be able to sit down and talk to someone who's gone through as many games. I thought it was very interesting many, many years ago when Dale Murphy and I saw each other at an All Star game and he had made a conscience decision to end his streak. I thought it was really interesting to relate and talk to him about it."
(On knowing that the streak is just an extension of his approach to the game, will Cal be devastated something happens to prevent him from breaking the streak.)
"I don't think so."
"I think that obviously we don't know how were gonna react, if something happens. I am the worst at saying [that I think this is what's gonna happen], until it actually comes upon you, you will not know what or how you want to act."
"The closest thing (when I wrenched my knee) and seriously though I wasn't gonna be able to play that day. I was fine with it, and I hope that I would be fine with it again."
(On what Dale Murphy said to him.)
"The whole thing just kinda got to him.""We should call him up and ask him."
"The only thing I remember was at the end, he said something to the effect that I was different and it's different for me, so I should keep going."
(On whether there's ever been a time when he thought about ending the streak so he didn't have to deal with it.)
"Well l analyze and evaluate all the time and that is probably my downfall, half the time, especially when it comes to hitting and doing all those kinds of things."
"There have been a couple of times I've considered thinking it would really make everything better, if you give in to the criticism and I've tried everything else. I've changed my stance, I've done this, I've done that, is this the only thing left that it would do to correct things. I guess right when you get to that point something seems to break and everything turns out and goes in the right direction again."
"I've thought about it, because I think about everything."
"I've never got to the point where I though that was the answer. It almost seems like you're running away from it if you get to that point."
"I was taught through my father, was to work hard to get out of it, figure out what's going on and you fix it."
"You don't take the other approach and throw your hands up, give up and say I can't do it."
(On what his dad thinks about the streak.)
"I don't know."
"I would think that he would say pretty much the similar things that I've said, that it's important to be in the lineup every single day."
"Whatever my situation has been, the fact that I was able to establish myself as a regular player early and be someone that was in the line up every day and all the sudden you look up and say I don't know how it all worked out or why it all worked out."
"I am sure my dad would say its important for your teammates to count on you to be in the lineup."
(On specifics of his knee injury.)
"When you talk about baseball and injuries, I happened to injury my knee in the Seattle brawl. It's not one of the things you want to focus on or remember. When that whole thing took place, I tried to stop and turn another direction, the grass gave way and turned my knee at the wrong point, and I knew I had never had any problems with my knees and I felt something going. It bothered me a little bit to finish out the game. I iced it afterwards and went home. The next day I woke up and stuck my foot out of the bed and couldn't walk very good. Maybe it's a sign of my age, but at that point I thought, if this continues there's no way I would be able to play tonight. And so as time goes on I'd walk around, I'd do some treatments on it to try to loosen up and even at 3:00 in the afternoon, when I went to the ballpark I was not sure whether I could play. It seemed to get progressively better and once I got to the ballpark, got my uniform on, I privately went off in an underground tunnel just to see, without somebody watching me, to test it to see if I would be able to do it. I passed that test and went out and took ground balls, passed that test, and went on and played."
"I don't know why or how, but I was able to get through it. It was one of those things that probably would heal a lot faster if you took total time off, but as each day went on it bothered me less and then all the sudden it was gone."
(On did he go off by himself to the tunnel because he didn't want anyone to tell him 'no'.)
"I don't know why I did that."
"I didn't want anybody to see me testing it."
"I quess the decision would boil down to whether I could do it or not. I didn't want somebody else evaluating me until I knew."
(On why he does not want to prolong the streak by DH'ing or cameo appearances.)
"Because I've never played the game that way. I've never approached it that way and that would be telling that the reason I am playing is because of the streak."
"It's important for me to help the team out and if I got injured (say it was my knee) and I couldn't perform my duties at shortstop and I couldn't start the garne, but the team saw it necessary where I could help the team as a DH, I don't know how I would react, but I would assume I would react."
(On considering how unusual the off season has been where is he in regards to conditioning to where he would be usually when spring training starts.)
"I am as good as I've ever been coming into spring training."
"The comfort level with the 6 weeks Spring Training is nice to know that you can ease into and you have plenty of time to do it, but us regular players have always maintained that 6 weeks of spring training was too long and that we could do it probably in half the time and now I guess we have to prove that we can."
"My motivation suffered, to be honest with you, during the of season it was anything but normal. I wasn't happy with where I was in January or the first of February, but for some reason when the Spring started to break, outside of Baltimore, maybe it was something in the air or who knows what it was, maybe it was a sense of optimism that baseball was going to be back, but I caught fire and I was motivated like I have been in other years and baseball wise I really got up to speed since that point on. Through my other areas of workouts that I do to prepare for the season I really was able to take it to the next level that I need to, I am very happy and content with where I am right now."
(On whether he is excited about the season.)
"I am excited about the prospect of winning."
"No doubt about it, I try to focus myself on the prospect of winning. I try not to go any further than one game at a time, probably for my own reasons of protecting my approach. I don't know what to expect from the season. This experience right here today is different than any other spring training I've had, so if this continues I don't know if it will be a sense of excitement or a big distraction. I am excited for the prospects of the season...prospects of being able to win. I look forward to having a good season myself Hopefully this season will go along like every other season and I'll have a better feel for what it means to me later on."
"I am trying very hard and I am having a difficult time already to try to look at this as just the same season as every other season."
"I think because that's what I have to do."
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