Thanks to the Iron Man

On Sept. 6, 1995, I was in the press box at Camden Yards covering Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,131st consecutive game played for the Baltimore Orioles, the night he somehow surpassed Lou Gehrig's "unbreakable" record. I also treasure the memory of standing next to Cal as he signed every last autograph on Main Street out front of the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum at about 1 a.m. the night before he gave his Hall of Fame Induction speech in 2007.

This post today by Cal on his Facebook page ranks right up there on my own thrill-o-meter from No. 8. Humble thanks to Cal for sharing his memory and lesson of his own personal favorite hit (it has to do with his father), and thanks for this endorsement of DIAMONDS FROM THE DUGOUT! This is from his Facebook page.

"A great new baseball book from Mark Newman... Brooks even wrote the foreword!"

Cal's must-read #DiamondsFromTheDugout is perfect for all baseball fans. Grab your copy here: marknewmanbooks.com.