Baltimore Orioles fans of all ages filled the Abingdon branch of the Harford County Public Library Monday – and they stayed well past closing time – to hear Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. talk about his latest children's book, get his autograph and pose for pictures with the Oriole great.
Ripken, a star shortstop who played for the Orioles from 1981 to 2001 and earned the nickname "Iron Man" in 1995 after he broke Lou Gehrig's record for the most consecutive games played, has published five children's books with co-author Kevin Cowherd, a former columnist for The Baltimore Sun who covered Ripken's career with the Orioles.
Ripken and Cowherd sat before a sellout crowd of 200 in the library, and they talked about the recently-published fifth book in the All-Stars series, titled "Out at Home."
Tickets were $50 per person or $90 for two. All proceeds go to the Harford County Public Library Foundation, which will use the money raised to support the library system's summer reading programs, according to library officials.
"Even though I grew up in a different time, kids are still dealing with bullying issues, self-confidence issues, sometimes their body types are different," Ripken said.
Ripken, a Harford County native and graduate of Aberdeen High School, said he wants to reach young readers through the situations the characters, who play on a youth baseball team, go through.
"It gives you an opportunity to deal with those issues in a way where the kids don't feel like it's them, and so they read about it and they see solutions to the problems, and if they do run into those sort of issues then they have ways to handle them," he explained.
Ripken stressed that the biggest message he and Cowherd want to express through the books is that "your coaches and your parents are really good resources, and so you can't be afraid to talk to them about some difficult subjects."
Cowherd noted that controlling one's temper, even in the face of setbacks on the playing field, is a subject covered in the book series, and is drawn from the short temper Ripken expressed as a youth player and minor leaguer.
He said Ripken's admission of having a bad temper surprised him.
"He just always struck me as a real level-headed guy," Cowherd recalled.
Ripken touched on a variety of topics beyond the books, including having parents encourage their children to play more than one sport to avoid mental and physical burnout, his memories of playing with former Orioles such as Eddie Murray, Ben McDonald and Brady Anderson, his mother, Vi, who still lives in Aberdeen, and the status of the present-day Orioles, who are in spring training.
Ripken said his mother, who was kidnapped in 2012 and later released, has recovered and is doing well. The kidnapper has not been caught.
Ripken praised Orioles manager Buck Showalter and Executive Vice President Dan Duquette for their work in building a roster and putting players in positions where they can shine.
"I would trust the Orioles," he said. "Honestly, I think the only thing you can say coming out of spring training is, 'Is your team a playoff-caliber team or not?' If you say that, 'Yes, they are a playoff-caliber team,' a season of 162 games has to be played, and no one's smart enough to predict what's going to happen in the 162."
Ripken continued: "It's an awful good thing to know that they are a playoff-caliber team, that they have enough talent, they have enough know-how, they're going to execute at a level that's going to allow them to win the one-run games, well then they have a chance."
Ripken and Cowherd also took questions from the audience.
One young fan, 11-year-old Ben Bagley, of Abingdon, asked Ripken: "Is it OK if I break your streak?"
"No," Ripken joked.
He added: "I hope that you have a chance to fulfill a dream and play baseball."
Ripken noted that "The Streak" started "with an attitude that, I wanted to play," and his managers picked him to play every game.
"It wasn't that I wanted to break Lou Gehrig's record," he explained. "It was, I wanted to play big-league baseball and do the right thing."
Ripken said playing Major League Baseball can feel a bit like being a child, even though it is at an adult level.
"I would hope that all kids get to feel what that feels like," he said. "It's cool."
Ripken and Cowherd signed copies of their book and posed for photos with fans. The Abingdon branch typically closes at 8 p.m. Mondays, but fans were still lined up to meet the authors at 8:45 p.m.
Sherry Smith, 67, of Bel Air, who is developmentally disabled and uses a wheelchair, came to the event with her sister, Debbie Peroutka, and her extended family.
She was ecstatic about meeting Ripken.
"It's almost like meeting the president," she said. "It's a great adventure!"