Iron Man to get bronze plaque in Cooperstown

BALTIMORE -- As a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cal Ripken Jr. will be recognized with a plaque that bears a sculpture of his face and details of his spectacular career.

The plaque will be made of bronze. It might have been more appropriate if it were molded from iron.

What better way to honor an outstanding player who earned the nickname Iron Man? Even if Ripken hadn't played in a major-league record 2,632 consecutive games, he still would have been elected Tuesday to the Hall of Fame.

But The Streak, which shattered Lou Gehrig's mark of 2,130, was by far Ripken's most notable accomplishment and the reason the former Baltimore Orioles star captured 98.53 percent of the vote.

"To be remembered at all is a very special thing. Having said that, I guess I'll be remembered for the streak," Ripken said last week in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm very proud of what the streak represents. Not that you were able to play in all those games, but that you showed up to play every single day."

Ripken took Tuesday's phone call at home, uncertain his entrance into the Hall was a sure thing.

"There was a sense of anticipation, knowing that today was the day you would get word," Ripken said during a news conference at Camden Yards. "Really, right up until the call, there was a sense of butterflies, a sense of excitement. You really wanted to hear those words, 'Congratulations. Welcome to the Hall of Fame.'

"It was an euphoric feeling, a great feeling, a sense of contentment all wrapped up in one."

Ripken was picked by 537 voters and finished with the third-highest percentage behind Tom Seaver (98.84) and Nolan Ryan (98.79).

"The amount of support I had is overwhelming, period. I feel very good about that," he said. "I was just relieved to hear that I got in. I never got caught up in being unanimous or getting the most votes."

During his 21-year career, Ripken never was concerned about his numbers. So amassing the most votes in Hall of Fame history didn't really matter.

"I'm tickled to death I was voted in. The stats in many ways don't tell the whole story," Ripken said.

Nor did they adequately describe Ripken's career.