Domenic Vadala: Cal Ripken Jr. belongs to fans of baseball

If you're used to what I write on Birds Watcher and for that matter even here on MASN, a lot of what you read here today might come as a surprise. For the most part, I feel that writers should remain above the fray of the fan on the street when writing about the team. So most of what I try to put out there is analytical as opposed to emotional in nature. But some events rock the world.

The career of the great Cal Ripken Jr. spanned my entire childhood, adolescence and into early adulthood. Like most people of my generation, he was my favorite player as a kid. So when I ended up on the Orioles in my town's Little League, my Dad made sure that I wore the coveted No. 8. To top it off, he was my team's third base coach.

Now in my mid-30's, I find myself old enough to say that Cal was my boyhood hero. I'm not sure when you make the transition into being old enough to use that term, but I've been there for some time. But seeing Cal at the Yard last night, or any night, seems to turn back the hands of the time I referenced above. Oriole Park at Camden Yards always will be his yard - it was after all built with his hitting style in mind.

I've always said that when a player becomes a Hall of Famer he truly belongs to "the game" as opposed to one or more teams. However, I would submit that "the Iron Man" belongs to the fans of baseball. Notice that's the first time in this piece that I've used that term ... and there's a reason for that.

I know lots of people my age who root for other teams who tell me that Ripken was their hero as a kid as well. And somehow that doesn't sit right with me. How can you claim that while calling yourself a Cardinals, Cubs or Yankees fan? Don't those teams have heroes of their own? But here's the difference: To the rest of the league, he's the Iron Man. To us, he's just Cal.

He was Baltimore's hero first off because he was Cal Sr.'s son, and thus he was from the area. But then, he turned into a big power-hitting shortstop, which at that time was all but unheard of. He became the face of sports in this area for an entire generation - MY generation. And yes, then there was the whole streak thing.

It goes without saying that the streak was impressive. Heck, as often as players go to the DL now ... it's about as impressive as impressive can be. And you'll never convince me otherwise. But while that may be why fans on a national level love the Iron Man, it's not uniquely why Baltimore does and always will love "Cal."

For people in my age bracket, he represents our childhood. (Here's where you cue the music from "Field of Dreams.") He's the personification of summers long gone, spent at Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards, the shores of Ocean City or perhaps picking crabs with family on the Chesapeake Bay. He represents a time before Twitter, before the Internet and before the 24-hour news cycle.

So yes, 80's kids have now reached the point where it's fashionable to look back at things in that manner. Granted, I can't speak for everyone; however, to me, that's part of what Cal represents. And of course it goes without saying that the streak is part of it. There's really nothing in sports or even in real life to which we can compare it. Could you imagine literally NEVER calling out sick or taking a vacation?

I would also submit that part of the allure of the Iron Man nationwide is because he almost single-handedly saved baseball. The 1994 players strike had tarnished the sport, and 2131 came about at the exact moment that the sport - and perhaps the sports world - needed a hero the most.

On September 6, 1995, Ripken endeared himself to baseball fans nationwide forever as he became the Iron Man by breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games-played record. The numbers 2131 hanging on the Warehouse in "The Ballpark That Forever Changed Baseball" are an indelible feature for all who remember that moment. 2131 may just be a number, but it's a number that's forever linked with my boyhood hero and with the Orioles. However 2131 represents the Iron Man. If you want to talk about Cal, there's only one number: 8.

Domenic Vadala blogs about the Orioles at Birds Watcher, and his opinions appear here as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our pages. Follow him on Twitter: @DomenicVadala. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.