Cal Ripken's tingling back and his streak get big tests

Sporting News, The, March 9, 1998 by Peter Schmuck

Cal Ripken had a sore back for much of last summer, so sore that it nearly ended his record streak, of consecutive games and could--with one false move--put it in jeopardy again this year.

It was his painful little secret in 1997 and could be his undoing in 1998. Yet; when aware of the way Ripken handled the problem in the offseason, it's easy to understand why he was able to push Lou Gehrig out of the record book and establish himself as baseball's iron man.

Ripken didn't undergo surgery He didn't spend the four months off in a recliner, waiting for the soreness to subside. He didn't do what any normal person would do to relieve the pain of a herniated disk.

He tried to make it worse.

"My view was to take a strong testing period," he says. "I pounded on it I tried to break it because I had to know. But there are no assurances that something won't happen again."

In fact, it is highly probable that something will. Ripken plays a sport that is very hard on the lower back. The constant twisting of the torso at the plate and the sudden bursts of activity required at third base are just the kinds of things dud make for a chronic back problem.

Ripken, who will turn 38 this season, acknowledged during the first week of spring training that he still feels occasional "slight" tingling in his lower back and left leg. Knowing that he has made a career of downplaying dozens of injuries to play in 2,478 consecutive games, it's hard to know just what to make of that sensation in his back, but here's something to think about: The streak is on notice. Never has it been more likely to end than this season, and yet you would be a fool to bet anyone that Ripken will sit down for a game in 1998.

There have been several defining moments during the 15-plus years that Ripken has been in the Orioles' starting lineup without interruption:

* He suffered a severe ankle sprain against the Rangers on April 10, 1985, but missed only an exhibition game against the U.S. Naval Academy Of course, the incident wasn't highly publicized because he had played in only 444 consecutive games at the time.

* Ripken also sprained an ankle during a September 11, 1992, game against the Brewers, but he didn't come out or miss an inning over the next seven days. That happened when the, streak had reached 1,713 games, easily the second longest in baseball history

* Perhaps the closest he came to ending the streak before surpassing Gehrig was on June 6, 1993, when he twisted his right knee during a beanball brawl between the Orioles and Mariners. The knee swelled badly overnight, and Ripken told his wife he wasn't going to be able to play in the ensuing game, but he didn't even miss pregame infield drills.

The back injury was something entirely different. Ripken struggled with it throughout last summer and nearly walked off the field in early August. He struggled so badly at the plate that he rekindled the debate over whether the streak could have a negative effect on the club, yet he rebounded to be one of the Orioles' top clutch hitters in September and October.

That debate had cooled in 1995, when Ripken's assault on Gehrig's record became the feel-good story of the year and the apparent cure for all that had ailed baseball during the long labor unrest. It didn't resurface in 1996 because he came back from a so-so year (in terms of run production) to drive in 102 runs.

It is certain to be an issue this season, but if Ripken plays true to form, then he'll find ways to divert attention--besides taking another bow when he reaches 2,500 consecutive games in late April. Every time it has become an issue, even as far back as the 1989 and '90 seasons, he has answered with his bat.

Few outside Baltimore remember there was significant sentiment that the streak was taking its toll on Ripken--and the team--when his offensive performance tailed off in September several seasons in a row. He responded in 1991 by hitting .323 with 34 home runs and 114 RBIs and winning his second Most Valuable Player award.

The popular argument in favor of ending the streak was that a day off here and there would allow Ripken to be an even better player, but it missed the mark because it failed to recognize what motivates the man. The streak is an extension of everything he stands for and everything he plays for. It really isn't an issue of choice.

Manager Ray Miller says he won't even broach the subject unless it becomes obvious that Ripken is physically incapable of playing his position.

"Whatever Cal has on any given day is good enough for me," Miller says.

There is little public sentiment for ending the streak now. Ripken is the pride of Baltimore and the streak is his defining athletic accomplishment He should continue to milk it for all it's worth.

McGriff steps to the plate

Devil Rays first baseman Fred McGriff has spent the past few months fielding questions about his supposedly waning offensive skills and clearly is losing patience with the notion that his performance last year (22 home runs, 97 RBIs) was substandard.