The 'Bookends' Interview: Cal Ripken, Jr.
By John J. Buro | Pro Baseball Central - NYSportsDay.com | on Wednesday, May 17 2006

RIDGEWOOD, NJ –It has always been about the kids. Except that, now, Cal Ripken, Jr. has more time to work with. With the endless 162-game seasons in the background, the calendar is whatever he wants to make of it. So, if Ripken chooses to travel –the occasional tour is essential to promote any of his numerous baseball-themed books-, he does so at his discretion, and not in accordance with a league schedule. Maybe, in the near future, there will be fewer hours to spare if the Baltimore Orioles, his old team, make an irresistible overture. But, that’s a story for another day.

These days, it appears that Ripken -who retired from Major League Baseball in 2001 with 3,184 hits, but is far more recognized for shattering Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-game streak-, has enough to do. His latest work, “Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way: Ensuring the Best Experience for Your Kids in Any Sport” [with Rick Wolff, Gotham Books, 256 pps, $15.75] is a testament that he is just as important to the game as when he walked away from it.

“There is no definitive way,” he said during a recent signing at Bookends [232 E. Ridgewood Avenue, www.book-ends.com]. “Dad [Cal, Sr.] was part of a stable baseball teaching group –good people who stayed together. Then, it was known as the ‘Oriole Way’. But, when things migrated towards change, Dad was soon the only one left. The ‘Ripken Way’ –which is a flattering representation-, is meant as a good way to do things. In the book sense, it’s more about marketing than anything else.

“It is a perspective – an opinion- on both life and sports.” And, when 850 people stand in line for several hours to share a fleeting moment with a revered icon, it is a valued opinion.

In an era marred by steroid scandal, Ripken continues to be synonymous with all things good about the game. Through Aberdeen, Md.-based Ripken Baseball, nearly 700,000 children, ages 5-12, participate in a league bearing his name. But, he is far from just a figurehead.

Since his retirement, the future Hall-of-Famer has devoted significant time to coaching kids, -including his own son and daughter- by stressing often- ignored aspects of the game. By keeping it simple. By explaining why things are done a certain way. By celebrating the individual. And, most of all, by making it fun.

Ripken’s book offers advice and insight on many baseball-related issues, in addition to recognizing the value of both exercise and nutrition.

“A common theme in youth athletics is how much winning is emphasized,” said the 19- time All Star who finished with 431 HRs, 1,695 RBI and a .276 batting average. “I don’t feel that way. Through sports, we’re able to teach a good work ethic, a sense of responsibility and teamwork –which are life lessons in general.

“There are parents who think that putting pressure on the kids will toughen them. But, that isn’t always what’s best in the development of the child. Winning, then, becomes something extra -a byproduct of development.”

That something extra, however, will often include misunderstood words –such as competitiveness and intensity. “Being competitive and intense doesn’t mean you can’t have fun,” the two-time American League Most Valuable Player pointed out.

“Most people think they are polar opposites, but they’re not. There’s a seriousness that comes from taking the skills that are developed, and apply- ing them in competition. I’m one of the most competitive people out there, but I also like to have fun as much as anyone.

“In youth athletics, children can’t truly compete -in the full-fledged, or strategic sense –until they first have enough skills to understand the game. Only then, can they apply those skills to the game. In some ways, by emphasizing competition and winning too soon, the kid’s development –obtaining the necessary skills needed to play the game at a high level- will be short- changed.”

There is always a price to pay for becoming too good. The cost, in this case, is measured in idle time.

“I’d like to see kids get off the couch a little bit more. I’d like to see them exercise as opposed to relying on television and video games. As a parent, I do my part to encourage that. Parents provide the best examples. If they exercise and eat right, -and encourage their children to become involved in sports- then the kids will be more likely to follow their direction.”

Over the years, it has been questioned whether or not an athlete -particularly one that frequently in the public eye- should be a role model. Charles Barkley, who will be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this September, once addressed this specific issue in a television commercial. “I am not a role model,” he deadpanned. In a subsequent interview, he elaborated, “Professional athletes should not be role models. Hell, I know drug dealers who can dunk. Can drug dealers be role models too?"

Ripken -who is certain to threaten Tom Seaver’s record 98.84% election return when he is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2007, was more eloquent.

“Athletes are an extension of society,” he said. “We are all kinds of people, pulled together because we catch, hit or throw. And, because of television, we have gotten a lot of attention. But, our success doesn’t necessarily mean that we can be a good role model for kids. “If people are in a position of influence –and athletes are in that position- they can choose to influence either negatively or positively. I have chosen to turn it into a positive direction and, hopefully, have helped kids.

“The best thing,” he added, “is for parents to love your kids unconditionally and, with that love, they will grow and learn with them. Parents have slightly different philosophies on how to raise children, but loving them unconditionally is a good start.”

Ripken looked back to his childhood and smiled. He had to learn from some- where to become such a humanitarian.

“I don’t know if any one lesson was greater than the other; it wouldn’t be fair to say there was just one thing. But, one of the traits I was given is patience. A ‘bigger picture’ perspective. That success is a process. Now, as I’m parent- ing my kids, I’m repeating things that my parents had told me. Basic principles. Basic values. The difference between right and wrong.”

On a baseball diamond, a hitter can fail 70% of the time but, by hitting .300, can still be considered a success. Parents don’t have the luxury of failing so often. If they were to fail as much, their kids will, inevitably, look at life from places whose décor includes steel bars.

What Ripken has done, through his organization, is improve those odds.