I’m a ballplayer, from a baseball family. My father played, too; then he was a manager in the minor leagues, then in the majors. I was with one team—the Baltimore Orioles—for my entire career. I eventually broke Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive games with my 2,131-game streak. I retired in 2001 and started Ripken Baseball, and we now have youth baseball facilities in Aberdeen, Maryland; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; several others are in development. I’ve been a baseball broadcaster for the playoffs on TBS, and I’ve had the privilege of speaking to prominent organizations of Hollywood producers, Wall Street executives, union workers, and many others. I’m in the Hall of Fame—a great honor.
The Orioles, 2,131 games, youth baseball, and the Hall of Fame: that’s what most people know about me. So why write a book about enduring values? On the field and off, I’ve learned some basic principles of life, and today, they’re still relevant, maybe more relevant than ever.
We live in challenging times. Bullying, name-calling, cutting corners, and sometimes just disregarding the truth have become accepted parts of all our lives. (I can almost hear my father, Cal Sr., saying, “You just don’t do that.”) The values and principles I grew up with aren’t respected the way they used to be. I work with top leaders and spend days with kids at our youth baseball facilities, so I think I understand as well as anyone that there are some things that always make sense, some things that should last. It seems we could use some enduring values right now. I don’t mean to tell other people how to live, but I do want to share what I’ve learned in case it’s helpful.
I learned by listening to the wisdom of my father, but sometimes by ignoring his wisdom and having to learn the hard way. I learned from my mother, who was the ideal partner and the loving counterpoint to my father. I learned from winning the World Series, but I learned as much, if not more, from a long, painful losing season. I learned when to get mad at umpires and when not to. I learned from teammates and opponents who were role models and sometimes from guys who taught me what not to do. I learned from some good business decisions, some not so good ones, and a few lucky ones. I learned a lot from raising kids, from telling kids how life works, and then from listening to kids to really learn how life works. I learned from success and from failure. I’m still learning.
I believe in certain values and principles. And I try to live by them. Values matter, and I’m happy to share what’s worked for me and what hasn’t. That’s what this book is about—not just baseball, but also life. It turns out they’re a lot alike.