The One Person That Can Change The Orioles' Woes: Cal Ripken Jr.

When Major League Baseball was coming off their strike-shortened 1994 season, they needed someone to lean on and bring baseball back to what it once was: enjoyable and successful. Cal Ripken delivered a streak that not only brought national recognition to Baltimore, but it put baseball back on its feet. Commissioner Bud Selig admits that without Ripken, he doesn't know where baseball would be. "When you talk about Cal Ripken, just think where we are today and where we were in 1995," says Commissioner Bud Selig. "I will always be grateful to Cal because he started that task of recovery and made it a lot easier. No one should ever diminish his great role in baseball." The current Orioles organization is in the same state as baseball was in 1995. Baseball had a bright future, as they could only get better, and Ripken put them over the edge. With a lot of young talent, the O's could lean on Ripken the sam...