Streak Miscellany

News and notes from Cal Ripken Jr.’s breaking Lou Gehrig’s mark for consecutive games played:

The Camden Yards fan who caught Cal Ripken’s home run ball in the fourth inning Wednesday night has decided to give the ball to the Oriole shortstop.

“The ball should be with Cal,” said Bryan Johnson, a 33-year-old season ticket holder from Pasadena, Md. “Look at what he stands for and all the memories he has given us.”

Ripken was touched. “That kind of reaction really makes me feel good,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m deserving. If I put myself in his position, I’d have a tight grip on the ball and wouldn’t let it go. But it shows a deeper feeling for a fellow human being.”

*

Some have speculated that Ripken’s streak was more impressive than Gehrig’s, considering the demands of coast-to-coast travel and artificial turf, but Ripken isn’t so sure.

“I really don’t have a good opinion on that, because I only have perspective on what I’ve done,” Ripken said. “For someone to say that would have to know what it’s like for both us. It could have been more grueling for Lou, I don’t know.”

*

Ripken presented President Clinton with three Oriole jackets and signed bats for both Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, who stopped by the Baltimore clubhouse before the game.

*

Among the gifts Ripken received during the postgame ceremony: A mahogany pool table and a 2,131-pound landscaping rock with the number “2,131” chiseled in from his teammates, and a sport-utility vehicle and a watch from the Orioles. The Major League Players Assn. also will build a baseball field for youngsters in Ripken’s hometown of Aberdeen, Md.