By Richard Justice
Washington Post Writer
Tuesday, September 22, 1998; Page C3

Cal Ripken came along at precisely the right moment for major league baseball. Actually, he'd already been on the job every day for 13 seasons when the nation began to pay attention in the summer of 1995, and if he was something new and different to a lot of people, his friends and teammates long ago had stopped being amazed by his endurance, preparation and work ethic.

Others noticed Ripken in the summer of 1995 because he was closing in on Lou Gehrig's astonishing record of 2,130 consecutive games. Like Babe Ruth's 60-home run season and Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, it was a record many in sports believed would never be broken.

Ripken did break it in September 1995, and he might have had a big hand in saving a sport as well. Baseball was hurting in the wake of a labor dispute that forced the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and delayed the start of the '95 season. A year later, fans were staying away from ballparks in alarming numbers and television ratings were down. Even some of the game's most ardent supporters wondered if it would regain the power to captivate or thrill it once had had.

"In 1995, that night when he broke the record was so great, especially given the nightmare of 1994," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "He's done a great thing for baseball. That's one record I do think will be around for a generation. He's handled it beautifully. His durability is stunning. The whole thing is hard to believe."

Ripken proved baseball still could provide riveting moments, and now, three years later, with attendance at record levels and a historic home run chase putting the game back on the front pages, many in baseball haven't forgotten that the rebirth began with Ripken taking an emotional, joyous victory lap around Camden Yards on Sept. 6, 1995, after playing in his 2,131st consecutive game.

Both Ripken and the record he broke appealed to many fans because they could relate to it. In the end, it was not about hitting a 500-foot home run or throwing a 99-mph fastball, but about simply getting up and going to work every day.

This is not to diminish Ripken's skills. He's a two-time American League Most Valuable Player and a 16-time All-Star. He has the all-time record for home runs by a shortstop and should collect his 3,000th hit in 1999.

But by the time he broke Gehrig's record, he was 35 years old and no longer the game's most feared hitter or dominant offensive performer. Instead, he was what he always prided himself on being: a good player who worked hard to prepare himself and prided himself on always being available to play.

"A lot of people who go to work every day can identify with Cal," Yankees pitcher David Cone said. "The streak supersedes baseball."

Ripken explained it in simple terms.

"The streak was born out of my desire to play and a lot of managers writing my name on the lineup card," he said.

Ripken's consecutive-games streak ended at 2,632 games Sunday night when he removed himself from the Baltimore Orioles' lineup for their final home game of the season. He was back in the lineup for last night's game in Toronto, and intends to continue to be an everyday player for the foreseeable future. As Shapiro says: "No where matter he goes, he'll be baseball's iron man."

Yet taking a day off marks the beginning of the next phase of his career. Yesterday, those in and out of the game remembered both Ripken, the streak and its contribution to the sport.

"You have to be mentally strong, physically strong and you have to be a little crazy too," Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said. "To be able to play 2,600 games in a row with injuries, pain, sickness and slumps, you've got to be crazy. That's incredible."

Orioles pitching coach Mike Flanagan laughed yesterday as he recalled when Ripken joined the Orioles in 1981.

"I remember when Cal first came out and didn't play every day," he said. "He just had so much energy that he was a pain in the neck in the dugout. He'd be beating up the trainers, picking on teammates, whatever. I think the reason Earl [Weaver] first started playing him every day was to get him out of everyone's hair.

"And that's the thing that struck me Sunday night. He still had all that energy. I remember thinking, 'I hope he's back in the lineup tomorrow.'

"I don't know how you can equate it with anything else. At a time when players are constantly being paid more for less, here's a case of just the opposite."

One of those paying tribute to Ripken was Chicago White Sox outfielder Albert Belle, who now has the longest active streak of consecutive games played at 327. Belle would have to play every day for the next 14 seasons just to get within range of Ripken's record.

"That's one streak I don't think he has to worry about anybody breaking. That's incredible," Belle said.

Ripken did it, in part, by being lucky. How else can anyone play 16 consecutive seasons without being hit by a ball, spiked, twisted or otherwise forced to the sidelines? Many players, including home run king Mark McGwire, say days off are more mental than physical.

"Hey, I'm not Cal Ripken," McGwire said after one recent day off. "The only way I can stay at my best it to take an occasional game off. It's more mental than physical. It just allows you to get away."

Ripken also did it by being remarkably thorough and prepared and diligent. Even when he was in the minor leagues, teammates spoke admiringly of how careful Ripken was about such matters as diet.

He also would take enough ground balls each day to judge how his arm felt. While he was never missing a game, he was also never missing a day of infield practice, which some players occasionally skip to stay fresh.

"I just think that's the way everybody should approach whatever they do," Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick said. "Not necessarily think of things as a streak, but come to work ready to play every day. Everybody in the game tries to emulate his professionalism."

To players younger than Ripken, 38, his streak was especially remarkable.

"Three or four years ago, I thought I could play every day," said second baseman Bret Boone, 29, of the Reds. ' "I found out you just can't do that. You hit a wall. It made me realize how awesome a feat that is."

Ripken did have injuries. He almost benched himself last season when severe back spasms and disk problems left him unable to sleep and at times barely able to play. Through the years, he had suffered sprained ankles, twisted knees and a broken nose. But he kept playing.

"To have a record like this is to have the will and determination to keep it going," former Orioles designated hitter Ken Singleton said.

"I'm sure there are days he didn't feel like doing it. They said Lou Gehrig's record would never be broken. He's gone 24 percent further than Lou Gehrig did. I would think in this day and age, no manager would let a player get that far along."

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, may have spoken for a lot of baseball fans yesterday when he said: "I feel fortunate to have been directly involved with baseball and to have been a fan during Cal Ripken's amazing streak. I appreciate the class and dignity he brought to the game. And I appreciate being able to watch Cal Ripken make history."