Streak Talk
September 06, 1995
ON CAL RIPKEN
"I admire him not only for his talent, but for his constant determination day in and day out. He's been loyal to his team, his fans, the community and professional sports every phase of his career. His determination and talent has been great for baseball and America."
-- President Clinton
"Unbelievable. I think the thing that comes to my mind is that I can look back and say I played during that incredible stretch, during that streak of his. I'll be able to tell my grandchildren that."
-- Detroit Tigers infielder Alan Trammell
"God has given him great health and a great work ethic and he has been lucky enough to avoid the kinds of problems that could have very easily ended the streak. Will this record ever be broken again? Well, I know I sure won't be around to see it if it ever is."
-- Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell
"{Ripken and Gehrig} are both so extraordinary that I can't say enough good things about either one of them. A lot of fans seem to fret that by Cal's setting this record, he will somehow obscure Gehrig's place in history, which I disagree with. History matters more in baseball than in any other sport, and Cal's approaching this record enabled a new generation of fans to learn more about Gehrig than they may possibly otherwise ever have."
-- Sportscaster Bob Costas
"I'm happy for Ripken. He's got a work ethic rare in the modern major leagues. A player like Ripken harks back to the days before the free-agent system in American baseball, when players stuck around long enough to become the pride of their town."
-- Sachio Kinugasa, who played in 2,215 straight Japan League games. Kinugasa, a catcher and later third baseman, played with the flu and once with a broken shoulder.
"They ought to have all the other games stop when his game starts, and show it on the TV screens. Every player would like to see his reaction when he crosses the line."
-- Detroit Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker
"It is extremely impressive that Cal was able to do something like this while playing shortstop. You have to have size and strength, which he obviously has, you have to have skill and you have to have some luck. I have always thought that shortstops were the best athletes on the field and this just reconfirms that."
-- St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith
"It's one of the great achievements in the history of sports. Cal Ripken embodies all that the Orioles stand for, all that Baltimore stands for and, really, all that this country stands for in terms of his dedication and work ethic.'
-- Baltimore Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos
ON LOU GEHRIG
"Hell, Lou, it took 15 years to get you out of the game. Sometimes I'm out in 15 minutes."
-- New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez, to Gehrig after he took himself out of the lineup, ending his consecutive games streak.
"Gehrig had one advantage over me. He was a better ballplayer."
-- Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider, when he was compared to Gehrig.
"He just went out and did his job every day."
-- Gehrig's teammate and roommate, Bill Dickey.
"You have to get knocked down to realize how people really feel about you. I've realized that more than ever lately. The other day, I was on my way to the car. It was hailing, the streets were slippery and I was having a tough time of it. I came to a corner and started to slip. But before I could fall, four people jumped out of nowhere to help me. When I thanked them, they all said they know about my illness and had been keeping an eye on me."
-- Gehrig to a friend shortly before his death in 1941
"... the words, Dahlgren, first base,' stunned the crowd into a moment of unplanned silence, which was followed by the unprecedented sound of several thousand people sighing in unison. Then Gehrig trudged painfully up to the plate, carrying the lineup card without his name on it. It was one of the most moving moments in sports history, high drama of the sort you cannot make up."
-- Art Hill,"I Don't Care If I Never Come Back"
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