Cal Ripken is baseball’s all-time IronMan. He retired from baseball in October, 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken’s name has become synonymous with strength, character, endurance, and integrity. His philosophy of working hard, playing with passion, and enjoying the game has made a tremendous impact on the sport and on fans everywhere. We are fortunate to be a part of the Cal Ripken League of Babe Ruth baseball, and the model of play he has promoted for our young players.

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I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. --Walt Whitman

     --John Fogerty

Baseball is a simple game of catch
and the never-ending search for the perfect knuckleball.
Baseball is Willie vs Mickey, Gibson vs Koufax, and Buddy Biancalana vs the odds.
Baseball links Kansan and Missourian, American and Japanese,
But most of all father and son.

     --Greg Hall, "Baseball Is"

Miracles DO Happen 6/28/09

All tournament long I reminded you to believe in yourselves and the talents you have been given. All tournament long I reminded you to play like a team. All tournament long I reminded you that "heart" and "grit" would take you far—as it does in life. But Sunday morning I asked you for something else—to believe in miracles and to say a prayer if you had a mind to.

And it all came together Sunday afternoon.

At 5:00 Sunday afternoon you set foot on the diamond one more time, the third for the day, to face our arch-nemesis—the Flame Throwers—out of gas and low on pitches, but still with "heart," you accomplished something nobody would have thought could have been possible. The Number 10 team in the league proceeded to play in the SBO Playoff Championship game! As Coach Mike put it, "We're not supposed to be here." Yet there you were. I am so very proud of all of you for the way you have grown, the grit you have shown, and your dedication to your TEAM.

We go back to Thursday night against the Rockies—the team we faced the preceding year when the Red Sox won the championship. The 1-6-3 double play in the second inning seemed to mark what was yet to come. While the game was tight early on, you opened the floodgates in the fourth inning. We batted around 1 1/2 times to score 12 runs in that magical inning. The Rocks were numb, and you had won 17-6 with Miracle Number 1.

Friday night set us up against the hottest bats in the league—the 11-4 Yankees—the Number 2 team in the tournament. In four innings, only 17 batters came to the plate for the Yanks thanks to tough defense. With six Ks, two AOs, and four GOs, you held them to just 3…and James’ two-run homer in the fourth sealed the deal with a 7-3 win. Miracle Number 2.

Two wins in the tournament earned us a rest, so we didn’t play until 4:30 Saturday afternoon (though scheduled for 3:30). We faced the Flame Throwers in a game we just weren’t ready for. (For whatever reason, we not only played them twice during regular-season play, but we also played them in the mid-season tournament. We were learning not to like playing the ice-cream team.) Matt put us on ice, so we dropped in the bracket to play the Diggers.

Like night and day, you were a different team in the second game fending off the Diggers’ hot bats to win 15-6. We left that evening wondering who we would play in the morning. The Yanks were playing the Coyotes on the field next to us.

At 10:00 on Sunday morning, we looked into yet another Yankee dugout, but it was then I told you to believe in miracles. With a sizzlin’ bat throughout the tournament, Alex started the game with a double, and we never looked back. We batted 15 in the first inning alone and hit the dugout with an 11-0 lead—too much for the Yanks to overcome. With the score 13-2 after three innings, the game was over—Miracle Number 3.

And then we waited. We waited for the result of the Flame Throwers-Wolves game. And we waited some more. After seven innings, the Wolves realized their first loss, so we took to the plate against another well-coached team. While they only had seven on the field, they proved to have as much grit as us. Leading the whole game, we found ourselves down 8-11 at the top of the fifth. Was this then end? Was our miracle tournament over?

Not with five steps across the plate!

At the bottom of the inning, the Wolves scored one with three singles, but our defense held strong to cap off the nail-biter, 13-12—a semi-final game to remember. Miracle Number 4.

You achieved what the sports world flocks to—the underdog overcoming incredible odds to win. While we came up short in the end on the scoreboard, you are all Number 1 with me. You believed in your team, you believed in the talents you have been given, and you believed in miracles. Congratulations Red Sox—a job VERY well done.