Orioles’ Ripken: Machine Man Just Grinds On

As Cal Ripken’s playing streak -- 6,211 innings and 686 games -- grows more and more remarkable, he has become so meticulous about diet and rest, so efficient at playing games and so valuable to his team that the Baltimore Orioles now must wonder if he’ll ever miss another game.

“If he does, it’ll be his decision or an injury -- not mine,” Orioles Manager Earl Weaver said. “He doesn’t look like he’s getting tired, does he?”

The streak, believed to be the longest consecutive-innings streak in major league history, began May 30, 1982, and Ripken now takes so much pride in it he bristles when people suggest he should take a day off. And with the consecutive-games streak of the Atlanta Braves’ Dale Murphy having ended at 740 Wednesday, Ripken’s streak of 686 is the longest among active players.

Not only does he play every inning of every game, he’s the only Oriole who never misses infield practice, and the lone regular to show up on the first day of spring training (when only pitchers and catchers are required to report).

Once when Weaver saw him running around in the outfield on a 95-degree day, he asked Orioles Coach Cal Ripken Sr., “Don’t you think the kid might wear out?”

“Nah,” the father replied. “He loves baseball.”

As he has gone more than four seasons without a day off, he has developed work habits, both mental and physical, every bit as impressive as the streak itself.

It’s two hours before a game with the Kansas City Royals, and his teammates are scattered about a spacious clubhouse, playing cards, reading or watching television when Ripken climbs onto trainer Richie Bancells’ table.

He flops onto his stomach, scoots half his body off the table and begins a series of Roman situps, which involve raising up his shoulders while Bancells holds his legs down.

Like a lot of other 6-foot-4, 215-pound people, Ripken has occasional lower-back miseries, and he has found these situps curative, especially on trips such as this one when the Orioles are playing seven straight games on artificial turf.

The other part of his preparation comes on the field. He does not believe in Nautilus machines, distance running or jumping rope. To prepare for baseball, he plays baseball. Period.

“The first thing I do out on the field is take a lot of ground balls,” said Ripken, who Wednesday was named the American League’s starting shortstop for Tuesday’s all-star game in Houston.

“The important thing is to work into it real slowly. You hear physical therapists say you should have a warm-up period, but that seems like common sense.

“Some players go out and jog or stretch, but I like to take ground balls and throw. I try to get my arms and legs and hands loosened a little at a time. If my arm is tired, this is when I’ll find out, and it might mean playing more shallow, so I don’t have to make the long throws from the hole.”

Next comes batting practice.

“We take eight swings on our first round, and that’s just like taking ground balls,” he said. “I start slowly. I think it’d be foolish to try for a home run in the first round. Batting practice is one of those times when you can develop a lot of bad habits. Hitting is timing, and batting practice is to work on timing. I don’t think it does much good to hit home runs off a 65-mph fastball when the slowest you’re ever going to see in a game is 85.

“I try to make sure I’m seeing the ball and to hit line drives to all parts of the field. Also, I think the only way you’re going to get stronger is by hitting more. No machine can simulate the exact muscle movements needed to swing a bat. If I’m in a slump, I hit more.”

In his early years, Ripken, 25, occasionally sat in on pitcher-catcher pregame meetings, so he’d know what pitches would be thrown to what hitters.

Knowing the pitch would help him know where to position himself at shortstop, and he learned quickly, now priding himself on knowing almost every hitter and every Orioles pitcher.

“I’ve said before you shouldn’t have to make real acrobatic plays if you’re in the right position,” he said. “That comes from watching and remembering. The times you get burned is when the pitcher doesn’t get the pitch where he wants it.”

For instance: “Before a series, I’ll look at the stats and see how a guy has been going. For example, Reggie Jackson has been hitting real well this year, which means he’ll be hitting to all parts of the field.

“When we play the Angels, I won’t play him so much to pull because when he’s in a groove, he’ll drive the ball to left, too. He’s one guy who, when he goes into a slump, he tries to pull the ball out of the park more, so you can shade him more to pull.”

On Saturday, July 5, at approximately 3:15 p.m., in the fifth inning of a Twins-Orioles game, Ripken was standing where he was supposed to be standing.

Thirty seconds earlier, he was standing at a different spot. Thirty seconds before that, he’d been even farther away.

Yet with a 2-0 count on Minnesota’s Gary Gaetti and Mike Flanagan pitching, Ripken had scooted far enough toward third base that he was able to dive for a hard-hit ball by Gaetti, prop himself up and throw to Juan Bonilla for a force play at second base on Tom Brunansky. End of inning.

In a game of inches, the Orioles won this small battle because Ripken had cheated 18 inches in a span of two pitches. Is he lucky, or is he smart?

“We talk about certain hitters,” Ripken said, “and Flanagan mentioned that Gaetti pulls him. I had that in mind, and when Flanny threw him two balls, you figure he’s going to throw a fastball, and that Gaetti is going to be looking for a fastball. He’s gotten a lot of hits in that spot against us, so I crept over a little.”

Why do even good hitters have a .300 batting average in normal situations and .385 with runners on base in close games?

“Everything is concentration,” Ripken said, “and it’s funny. You wish you could manufacture the concentration you have with men on base in the eighth inning. It’s so strange because sometimes your concentration is so good that the ball looks like it’s coming in slow motion and that it stops at the plate.”

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He said an important part of hitting is stepping into the batter’s box with an idea of what you’re going to hit and what you’re trying to accomplish.

Years ago, his dad drilled into Ripken the thought that he should step in with only one idea.

Again, concentration plays a part.

“Sometimes, I’ll step out and say, ‘Now wait, what’s my game plan here?’ ” Ripken said. “I’ll already have given the pitcher one pitch, and I have to step out and gather my thoughts.”

Yes, he admits, there are days when he’s tired. At the same time, he believes he still can help the Orioles win.

“There are days I’m tired, but I go into every game thinking I’m going to do something to help us win,” he said.