HOT CORNER
A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here. One exception: No products will be endorsed.
What: “Play Baseball the Ripken Way.”
Authors: Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken, with Larry Burke.
Publisher: Random House.
Price: $24.95.
Cal Ripken Jr. is best known as baseball’s iron man, the Baltimore Oriole infielder who played in a record 2,632 consecutive games. But if Cal and his brother Bill -- himself a major leaguer for 12 seasons -- fulfill their next dream, the Ripken name could be associated most prominently with teaching youth baseball. This book, subtitled, “The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Fundamentals,” provides more than sound instruction for coaches and kids. It offers a glimpse into the source of the Ripkens’ deep love of baseball and their unbridled exuberance in sharing their knowledge.
Their inspiration is their late father, Cal Sr., a lifelong player, scout and coach whose determination, toughness and ability to teach the game at all levels is explained in reverential tones by his sons. Cal Sr. passed on to his sons not only a passion for baseball, but also an attentiveness to detail that makes “The Ripken Way” more than merely a slogan that capitalizes on a famous name.
Many of their drills are as enjoyable as they are instructional. The teaching is done within the framework of “The Ripken Way,” which they define as “Be yourself, be open to the experience and wisdom of others who have played the game, apply the proven fundamentals of the game, keep things simple, and remember that baseball is a game and it’s supposed to be fun.” The Ripkens also reach young ballplayers through the Cal Ripken division of Babe Ruth League and through camps, clinics and tournaments at the Ripken Baseball Academy in Aberdeen, Md. But any player or coach anywhere can tap into “The Ripken Way” by reading this book.
-- Steve Henson
