Cooperstown

Cooperstown, N.Y. -- There are several possible reasons Sunday's Hall of Fame induction ceremony drew an estimated crowd that was 50 percent larger than any other. The most obvious, of course, is that Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are two of the best-loved figures in the history of baseball, and that - combined with the fact that Cooperstown is driving distance from Baltimore - probably would have been enough to set an attendance record. Still, the extent to which Sunday's crowd exceeded all expectations suggests that there were other factors: for instance, the belief among many of the fans who traveled from Maryland that it might be the last opportunity for a long, long time to see an Oriole go into the Hall of Fame.

Kelly Ripken wasn't going to wait until the last minute to plan for this Hall of Fame weekend. Not with a guest list of 320. Not when the invitees to Cooperstown, N.Y., included folks from John Travolta to Jeff Reboulet. Not with three parties to plan. So she started last fall, months before husband Cal Ripken Jr. even was voted into the Hall of Fame. In a perfect example of the legendary Ripken preparedness, Kelly Ripken traveled to Cooperstown to get a sense of the place, a decision that paid off when the inevitable was announced in January.

Cooperstown, N.Y. -- A 2,632 game streak and a record-breaking work ethic can hardly be chalked up to destiny alone. Cal Ripken Jr. does recognize, though, how the path of the Susquehanna River mirrors his journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The longest river on the East Coast stretches from near Ripken's birthplace in Havre de Grace to Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, N.Y. His way to the Hall was a winding, emotional one, and when it concluded yesterday, even Ripken seemed shocked at just how many people had made the voyage with him. And when Ripken took the podium to deliver his induction speech, we finally saw Baltimore's Iron Man melt.

If thousands of strangers were going to invade their hometown to honor Cal Ripken Jr., Ted and Sean Mebust were at least going to make a buck. "Cal Rocks because Cal rocks," they chanted as fans streamed toward yesterday's Hall of Fame induction. The boys had collected more than 50 black rocks from their backyard and local streambeds and had painted orange 8s on them. They sold the big ones for $3 and the little ones for $1, figuring visitors might want to leave with actual pieces of Cooperstown.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The bronze likeness that will be unveiled at today's star-studded Hall of Fame induction ceremony cannot possibly do justice to all-time pitching great Nolan Ryan.Ryan will be immortalized in a Texas Rangers cap, even though he spent just five of his record 27 major-league seasons with that franchise. He chose the final stop of his amazing four-team career because it was the site of his milestone 300th victory and 5,000th strikeout, but he made his only World Series appearance with the New York Mets, pitched four of his record seven no-hitters for the California Angels, broke the all-time strikeout record with the Houston Astros and reached the postseason with every one of those teams except the Rangers.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The Orioles don't often play in a setting more idyllic than Camden Yards, but yesterday they traveled to upstate New York to get in touch with baseball's mythical roots.Baseball wasn't really invented in Cooperstown, but the thin legend that Abner Doubleday devised the game here was enough to prompt the placement of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which eventually led to the construction of nearby Doubleday Field. It was there that the Orioles played a rare intraleague exhibition game against the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday afternoon.

The original lineup card used in the game during which Cal Ripken broke baseball's consecutive-games streak has turned up in an unexpected place: the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.Former Orioles manager Phil Regan filled out the card Sept. 6, 1995, inserting Ripken into the lineup for his 2,131st consecutive game. Generally a manager makes two carbon copies, but because of the historic nature of the game, five carbons were made.Regan arranged for his copy to be auctioned off earlier this month, and a Baltimore collector bid $35,650, mistakenly thinking it was the original.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Calm, collected, conservative, cooperative, all things his father wasn't. A marked contrast in styles and personalities. One strong-willed, a colorful extrovert, spoiling to fight with words or fists; and the other, his son, passive, reasonable and endeavoring to find a solution when disputes fermented.Both made baseball their professional calling, and now, as of today, they're the first father-son tandem to be enrolled in the Hall of Fame. The MacPhails are special, their contributions extensive among the game's elite executives.

The night Don Sutton registered his 300th victory, a 5-1 three-hitter against the Texas Rangers a dozen years ago, he said: "I don't need bells and whistles to make me feel good about something."He did, however, feel that the sheer weight of the pitching numbers he had piled up with five teams over 21 seasons had earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame. And fairly early on in his career, Sutton let it be known that 300 victories and the Hall of Fame were a couple of the "mountains" he planned on climbing.

The Babe Ruth Museum will open a new exhibit, "Cal Ripken: 2131," at noon Friday.The exhibit on Ripken's record-breaking consecutive-games streak will run through Oct. 31 and will include the historic 2131 banners that hung from the Camden Yards warehouse, then-Orioles manager Phil Regan's lineup card and a baseball signed Sept. 6 by the California Angels' starting lineup.The museum also is sponsoring a three-day trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday afternoon.

Hall of Fame announcement 2 p.m. [MLB Network] Find out who makes it to Cooperstown this year. In honor of Rickey Henderson (left), talk about yourself in the third person.

Mike Mussina won't get to decide whether his cap on a Hall of Fame plaque features a bird or the "NY" logo that can make Baltimore fans want to flip the bird. That call is up to the poohbahs of Cooperstown. But listen up, you guys, it should be an Oriole. Mike Mussina became Mike Mussina in Baltimore. Let's run some numbers: He spent 10 of his 18 major league seasons here. He recorded 147 of his 270 victories and 1,535 of his 2,813 strikeouts as an Oriole. All but eight of his 23 career shutouts came in orange and black.

Greg Oden needs surgery that will keep him out for the entire season. The news is bad in Portland, but it would be a whole lot worse if the operation weren't covered by Medicare. Oden will be resting comfortably in the Sam Bowie wing of the local hospital. I'm heading out to get in a quick set of tennis, but I wanted to chime in about Dave Trembley's suspension. Ridiculous. How's that for quick? Three games? For drawing a mark in the infield dirt with his foot and simulating throwing out the second-base umpire?

Cooperstown, N.Y. -- There are several possible reasons Sunday's Hall of Fame induction ceremony drew an estimated crowd that was 50 percent larger than any other. The most obvious, of course, is that Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are two of the best-loved figures in the history of baseball, and that - combined with the fact that Cooperstown is driving distance from Baltimore - probably would have been enough to set an attendance record. Still, the extent to which Sunday's crowd exceeded all expectations suggests that there were other factors: for instance, the belief among many of the fans who traveled from Maryland that it might be the last opportunity for a long, long time to see an Oriole go into the Hall of Fame.

Cooperstown, N.Y. -- A 2,632 game streak and a record-breaking work ethic can hardly be chalked up to destiny alone. Cal Ripken Jr. does recognize, though, how the path of the Susquehanna River mirrors his journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The longest river on the East Coast stretches from near Ripken's birthplace in Havre de Grace to Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, N.Y. His way to the Hall was a winding, emotional one, and when it concluded yesterday, even Ripken seemed shocked at just how many people had made the voyage with him. And when Ripken took the podium to deliver his induction speech, we finally saw Baltimore's Iron Man melt.

If thousands of strangers were going to invade their hometown to honor Cal Ripken Jr., Ted and Sean Mebust were at least going to make a buck. "Cal Rocks because Cal rocks," they chanted as fans streamed toward yesterday's Hall of Fame induction. The boys had collected more than 50 black rocks from their backyard and local streambeds and had painted orange 8s on them. They sold the big ones for $3 and the little ones for $1, figuring visitors might want to leave with actual pieces of Cooperstown.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The ribbing began yesterday as soon as the bus carrying Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn rolled near the field where they would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. "Look at the people on those distant hills," the older Hall of Famers told the newest inductees. "Nobody's ever sat back here this far." "We thought they were just messing with us," Ripken said. But the elder stars were right. The estimated crowd of 75,000 that came to watch Ripken and Gwynn was by far the largest in Hall history.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.-- --Here, in the one place charged with immortalizing baseball's feats and achievements, the biggest record of them all doesn't seem to exist this weekend. Here, in the No Barry Zone, steroids are unimaginable and controversy nonexistent. Here, we choose to recognize only that which is good. In this Hall of Fame bubble, our ambassadors are named Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, and at today's induction ceremony, their names will be formally etched on the most hallowed list in sports.

No question people are taking this induction ceremony seriously. Yesterday afternoon, exactly 24 hours before the proceedings were to begin, about 3,000 chairs had been placed on the Clark Sports Center lawn. It looked like a pristine version of a Preakness infield party. At 1:30 p.m. yesterday, a group of four guys from Eldersburg arrived in time to stake out their own spot, 15 rows deep on the lawn - about 60 yards or so from center stage. "This is better than we thought it would be," said Mort Shuman, a 37-year-old business analyst.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Cal Ripken Jr., baseball's "Iron Man" and heretofore the embodiment of boundless energy, is tired. Dead tired. He's running on adrenaline. And he's anxious. Now that the six-plus months of hype building up to today's 1:30 p.m. Hall of Fame induction is over, Ripken just wants to get through today and get some sleep. "I guess [there is] a little anxiety that is running a little higher than it normally would run. I feel that," Ripken said yesterday at his final news conference before he officially becomes a Hall of Famer.