BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : If All Goes Well, Ripken Will Tie Gehrig’s Record in 75th Game of ’95

The family circle has been broken, but Cal Ripken Jr. will carry on.

Consistently professional.

Consistently, period.

His consecutive-games playing streak, Baltimore Oriole Manager John Oates was saying the other day, has become “bigger than baseball and bigger than Cal.”

“There are people who say he should have a day off now and then, but do you know what would happen to me if I took him out?” Oates asked, not looking for an answer.

“I can’t speak for the other managers he has played for here, but I don’t think any of them--Earl Weaver, Joe Altobelli, Cal Sr., Frank Robinson--ever thought they were putting an inferior team on the field by keeping him in the lineup, and that’s the bottom line.”

Barring injury, Ripken will play another 162 games at shortstop for an Oriole team that may be baseball’s best. He was the only major leaguer to start all 162 last year, pushing the streak to 1,735 games. Lou Gehrig’s milestone, 2,130, is no longer a total fantasy.

He is within 395 games of Gehrig’s record and can tie it in the 75th game of the 1995 season, providing baseball retains the 162-game format through ‘94, and there is no lockout.

“It’s mind-boggling to me that Junior has been able to stay healthy through 12 seasons playing a position vulnerable to injury,” Oates said.

In that time, 285 shortstops have started games for other major league teams and 2,708 players have gone on the disabled list.

Ripken takes the streak in stride. He doesn’t understand why people think him unique for considering it his responsibility to play every day.

That hasn’t changed, he said, even though his environment has.

Harold Reynolds now operates at his side as the Baltimore second baseman, replacing Cal’s brother Bill, who was released by the Orioles and signed by the Texas Rangers.

Cal Sr., the Orioles’ former manager and longtime third base coach, was fired in October after drawing criticism for a pivotal coaching decision during a key September series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Cal Sr. refused to accept a minor league offer from the club and has retired.

Some have speculated that once Cal Jr. signed his five-year, $30.5-million contract in August it was inevitable that his brother and father would be gone, but Ripken said he did not think that the club had a hidden agenda.

“If there was a connection, I’d be pretty disgusted,” he said.

Instead, he is coping.

“Baseball separated us by taking my dad away when Billy and I were kids, but baseball then reunited us,” he said. “We beat the odds. I had my dad here when I needed him and my brother here when I needed him.

“Now it’s kind of strange not seeing them and there’s a feeling of hurt, but we had something special and I have to keep that in perspective when I consider how many other players never get the opportunity I had.”

Nagging injuries and the uncertainty over his contract situation prevented Ripken from playing at his highest level last year, even though the Orioles improved by 22 games and were in the hunt for the American League East title through mid-September.

Ripken experienced one of the biggest drop-offs in history after winning the league’s most valuable player award in 1991 with a .323 batting average, 34 home runs and 114 runs batted in. He went from those career highs to career lows of .251, 14 homers and 72 RBIs. He went 73 consecutive games without a homer and failed to hit 20 for the first time in his 11 full seasons.

Ripken refuses to blame the injuries, but said, “My one regret is that I didn’t handle the contract situation better. I shouldn’t have let it interfere with the season. I should have told the Orioles that once it wasn’t resolved in spring training, I didn’t want to deal with it until October.”

Ripken said he is looking forward to regaining his 1991 form. He said he probably will have to play with nagging injuries again but didn’t want to make an issue of it.

“I’ve managed 287 games with the Orioles and the only time I’ve taken Junior out is when we’re behind by large numbers,” Oates said. “He and I have talked and I may not wait to be behind or ahead that far this year. If I can get him out of 20 or 30 innings, that’s the equivalent of three games.”

Ripken has played 15,659 innings of a possible 15,787 during his streak.

“The good Lord willing, he’ll start 162 times this year,” Oates said. “If the Lord wants him to have a day off, He’ll let it rain.”

Oates optimistic: The Oriole manager expects his team to build on the 89 victories and 22-game improvement of last year, when Baltimore finished third in the East, seven games behind Toronto and four behind Milwaukee.

“We’ll be better if for no other reason than experience,” he said, not mentioning the addition of Reynolds, a switch-hitter with speed, and Harold Baines, a left-handed hitting RBI man in the middle of a predominantly right-handed lineup.

“I also think Toronto and Milwaukee lost too much talent not to come back to the pack, and that in itself makes the other five teams more competitive.”

The Blue Jays added Paul Molitor and Dave Stewart but lost Dave Winfield, Tom Henke, Jimmy Key, Kelly Gruber, Manny Lee, Candy Maldonado, David Cone, Dave Stieb and Jeff Kent. The Brewers did little to compensate for losing Chris Bosio, Kevin Seitzer, Jim Gantner and Molitor--”their best pitcher and three-fourths of their infield,” Oates said.

The Orioles need a fifth starter, the spot Fernando Valenzuela is pursuing.

The former Dodger left-hander said his arm strength is significantly improved since his brief, attendance-motivated trial with the Angels in 1991.

“I had been out of baseball for five or six weeks and tried to come right back,” Valenzuela said. “I rushed it and it wasn’t a good idea. I am much stronger now and have more confidence in myself.”

Valenzuela acknowledged, however, that there is “a lot of difference” between the major leagues and the Mexican League, where he spent 1992, pitching in the summer and winter.

“But the way I feel, I think I can help,” he said. “The Orioles have given me a lot of confidence just by giving me the chance. It’s a new life. I hope I still have many years left.”

Sutcliffe’s view: How did the Blue Jays beat the Orioles in the American League East last year?

“They signed the best free-agent pitcher in baseball and the best DH,” said Baltimore’s Rick Sutcliffe. “They got Jack Morris and Dave Winfield. We got me. We lost out there.”

Ryan’s routine: Nolan Ryan will start his final season pitching the Texas Rangers’ home opener. It has been speculated that the Rangers will give Ryan as many home starts as possible to build attendance.

“We’ve talked about it,” Manager Kevin Kennedy said. “We know it’s his last year and the people in Arlington want to see him as often as they can, but the team comes first.

“We’re going to try to win this thing. We think we can, but the only way is by putting our best club out there as often as we can. We can’t build a schedule around one pitcher or player.”

But considering Ryan’s age, 46, and his three moves to the disabled list in the last two years, Kennedy said they hope Ryan could start 26 or 27 games, rather than the usual 32 or more.

“The goal is to keep him healthy all year,” Kennedy said. “We have enough depth now that we’re pretty well covered.”

Lonesome: In his first spring away from the Brewers, Toronto’s Paul Molitor said he still needs time to acclimate.

“I never had to fit into a new clubhouse before, and the biggest adjustment for me is not having Robin Yount here,” he said. “He either hit ahead of me or behind me for 15 years. Our lockers were next to each other. I’m having a hard time getting used to the idea of not having Robin around. I guess I got kind of spoiled.”

Dutch delight: Bert Blyleven, snubbed by the Angels, pitched six shutout innings before the Orioles scored five runs in the second of his three innings Monday. He is trying to win a starting job with the Minnesota Twins and continue his bid for the 13 victories he needs for 300.

“I feel like I’m on the right road,” he said. “All I wanted was an opportunity to make a club out of spring training. The Twins gave it to me, the Angels didn’t.

“Their decision not to re-sign me just gives me that much more drive and determination. I know I’m going to win 300. I have that much confidence in the way I’m throwing and feel.”

Blyleven turns 42 on April 6, the day the Twins open the season.

“The good Lord has been good to me,” Blyleven said. “He gave me great control, a great curve and, of course, a great personality.”