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04-15-2015, 08:12 AM #1
15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Entering the 2000 season, Cal Ripken Jr. was nine hits shy of reaching the 3000 hit milestone and I really wanted to be there, no matter where it happened. It wasn't quite like the 2131 quest in that he actually needed hits, not just playing in a game. Anyways, my off season research showed that for his career, on average he got his 9th hit of the season in his 9th game which would put the Orioles in Kansas City. Well, Cal started slow that season and it was getting obvious that it wasn't going to happen in KC, but perhaps on their next stop in Minnesota. I had to eat the expense of airline tickets to KC, but I fortunately had a buddy whose brother worked for USAir and when I was telling him this, he got his brother to get me on an USAir flight using a "buddy pass" to Minneapolis.
I arrive in Minneapolis with Cal needing four hits in the weekend series. On Friday he got one hit....On Saturday night he made an out his first time up and fortunately for me, he got a hit the next three times up for #3000! As it turned out, with the streak being over he had no intention of playing Sunday (which he didn't) and that the Orioles would have preferred to have him get #3000 in Baltimore (which I couldn't go to due to a work commitment). So in other words, if it wasn't for those three hits that Saturday night I would have missed seeing it in person...
OK Flash Forward like 5-6 years and I tell Cal this story of my trip (taking days off to fly to Minnesota in April, etc.). Shortly after that, he was cleaning out his office and came across a grocery bag (yes, a grocery bag) of memorabilia that the Twins had given him from that night, which included 8-10 game used baseballs from that game.
Cal, being the kind of guy he is, remembered me telling him this story and gifted me one of these balls with a special inscription. I have a lot of neat things in my collection, but I'm not sure I have anything that means as much to me as this:
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04-15-2015, 08:27 AM #2
- Join Date
- Feb 2012
- Posts
- 311
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Thanks for sharing! That is such a great story. Cal is one stand up guy. Congrats!
Peace,
JohnAlways interested in Lance Parrish game used items. Looking for any Tigers game used jersey, game used glove, road Mariners jersey, and 94 Pirates home jersey. Contact me at john.swainer at gmail dot com
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04-15-2015, 09:19 AM #3
- Join Date
- Jul 2013
- Posts
- 235
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Stories like this are what keeps me loving the hobby. Kudos for sharing!
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04-15-2015, 09:30 AM #4
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
That's a great story and your relationship with Cal is awesome!
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04-15-2015, 09:50 AM #5
- Join Date
- Jan 1970
- Posts
- 1,886
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Thanks for sharing Bill. That is awesome!!
-ChrisChristopher Cavalier
Consignment Director - Heritage Auctions
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04-15-2015, 10:19 AM #6
- Join Date
- Jan 2015
- Posts
- 41
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
That is an awesome story and ball - super cool!!
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04-15-2015, 10:32 AM #7
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Great story! The story makes the ball priceless!!
always looking for Detroit Tiger world series player bats......game used 2006 & 2012 world series items....Quintin Berry bats....also interested in Ivan Rodriguez bats...
Thank you, Dale
tigers1984@comcast.net
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04-15-2015, 03:44 PM #8
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Posts
- 870
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Very cool piece Bill!
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04-15-2015, 07:31 PM #9
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Bill, thank you for sharing. Kudos to Cal for being such a stand up guy. It's hard to believe it's already been 15 years!
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04-16-2015, 07:34 AM #10
Re: 15 Years Ago Today, Cal Ripken Got His 3000th Hit; My Special Piece From That Game
Incredible item Bill!