Cal Ripken, Jr. Quotes

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Cal Ripken, Jr.

Profession : Athlete

Birth : August 24, 1960

My dad had premature gray. I was always the one with the most energy, the one who continued to practice longer. I ran up and down the stairs of different stadiums. I didn't feel the need to cover up the fact that I was losing my hair or it was graying. When you're on a team, age is only a factor when you're talking in the locker room.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

When you're in the day-to-day grind, it just seems like it's another step along the way. But I find joy in the actual process, the journey, the work. It's not the end. It's not the end event.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Sometimes I think sportsmanship is a little bit forgotten in place of the individual attention.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Being elected to the Hall of Fame is about your career pretty much and your impact on the game.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

All I really try and do is live up to my potential and do as well as I possibly could and to bring to the ballpark each and every day a good effort and do the best that I could each and every day.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I don't mind being described as vanilla in certain ways.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Normally, some people think about 50 as a big moment in life. I kind of think 30 because in your baseball career, 30 was considered on top kind of looking at the end of your career. So I remember thinking about 30 in different ways, but 50 just seems like another step right now.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I never understood that when I heard people retire - they said they missed being around the guys. I don't have a need to make a play in the ninth inning of a game anymore. But being on the inside and being part of a team is something that you really do value and you really do miss.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I very rarely lost - then everything would go crazy.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

The older you get, the things that you thought you wanted to do when you were younger, you're checking them off your list because you no longer want to them.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I have goals and ambitions, and I see myself as a lifelong baseball student. I have certain philosophies that I'd like to test at some point at the big league level. The job of manager appeals to me, a coach appeals to me, at a different time frame.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I never set out to do this; I never set out to say, 'Can I break this record?' Then all of a sudden, the preparations made for the celebration put pressure on me. I said, 'Okay, I have to get there.' After 2,130, there was sort of a realization it was a foregone conclusion you're going to play tomorrow.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I had trouble with my temper all the way through the minor leagues.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I love baseball. The game allowed me the influence to impact kids in a positive way. This gives me a chance to talk to some social issues.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Baseball can be slow in many ways. The action starts with when the pitcher delivers the ball. But the action really starts when the crack of the bat happens.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

My dad was part of the Oriole way. I think he was there 14 years in the minor leagues; I think seven of those years, they had the same people in place. So it was about continuity. It was about stability.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I'm always flattered when someone thinks of me as a potential commissioner of baseball.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

You learn as a player not to listen to the criticism. Many of the people who put out that criticism might not be as accomplished, might not understand the game as well from the inside-out.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

I did make a choice when I got away from baseball to be there to get my kids off to college.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

When you are away from the game and busy with other areas, you realize that the world does not revolve around baseball.

Cal Ripken, Jr.