Reduced Prices: Dugout Lineup Cards - Ripken & Santana

[jobathenut]

Oh,not the dreadful yankees

[ironmanfan]

That game from Friday 04/14/00 brings back memories for me...Before that season started, I was adament about seeing Cal's #3000 hit in person (regardless of where it was). He entered that season 9 hits shy and I did research to see on average what game of the season he normally got his ninth hit. According to my findings and the 2000 schedule, he should have gotten the hit in KC and I subsequently booked a flight there once the season started....Unfortunately, he started the year slow and it was obvious that he wasn't getting it in there, so I changed my airline reservations for MN instead (the Orioles next stop). That series started with him at #2996 and he did get #2997 that night (per the lineup card)..The whole wrinkle to it was that he wasn't going to play in Sunday's game (the streak had ended by then) since he really wanted to try to get the hit in Baltimore (which due to a work commitment I couldn't attend)...So to make a long story short, he needed three hits on Saturday in order for me to witness it in person...He made an out the first time up and then rattled off 3 hits in his next 3 at bats to secure the milestone and I was there to witness it..

A postscript to this story was a few years later I told this story to Cal (how I was like the only guy to spend his vacation in Minneapolis in April)
and how he NEEDED those three hits on Saturday for me to witness it..A short while afterwards, while cleaning out his office, he found a bag with a lot of memorabilia from that 3000 hit game, including a handful of game used balls & he inscribed one "To Bill, Thanks for being there for #3000..."
and gave it to me...Needless to say, it was a memory that I'll never forget..