It may have received small notice among some in the
community, but the Cayman Islands had a very cool visitor come to our shores on
Monday in the form of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr.
Mr. Ripken, a 19-time All Star on baseball’s biggest stage,
who compiled a record of consecutive games played that is likely to last until
the end of time, may not be well known to many sports fans in Europe and the
English-speaking Caribbean. However, in those parts of the world that play
baseball, he is a legend on the level of football’s Diego Maradona, perhaps.
Unlike Mr. Maradona, Mr. Ripken – a soft-spoken gentleman
who played for the same big league team, the Baltimore Orioles, his entire
career – really doesn’t make much press off the field and has kept fairly quiet
since retirement – doing his charity work with kids and writing books.
On Monday night at Camana Bay, he spoke of the need for
parents to let their children enjoy the game of baseball and other sports,
rather than pushing them to the outer limits and perhaps into early injuries
just to excel. He frankly admitted that he had no particular expertise to opine
on subjects like world politics simply because he was handy with a bat and
baseball glove. He talked about how special it was playing on the same major
league team with his brother Billy [a team also managed by their father, Cal
Sr.] and he talked about how he thought the Toronto Blue Jays [another Major
League Baseball team] would do this season.
Basically, it seemed to us that Mr. Ripken knew exactly what
he was and acted like it; a regular guy with exceptional talent and
perseverance.
We find ourselves wishing that more outstanding athletes
were like Cal Ripken, Jr. In today’s world filled with loud-mouthed braggarts
who are only half as good as they think they are, looking for the next
endorsement deal, embarrassing themselves off the field and assuming they’re
better than everyone else, Mr. Ripken seems an ideal role model for the younger
generation – in any sport – to follow.
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