Happy Birthday, Cal Ripken! The Iron Man turns 49 and that makes today a perfect time to review The Only Way I Know, Cal's 1997 autobiography. This is a fascinating reflection on breaking Lou Gehrig's streak, life in the minors, what really goes on in the majors, and the state of baseball in general. The reader will definitely hear Cal's voice, which is both the charm and the drawback to this book: It is conversational in style, but this results in a less polished written word.
Ripken comes across in the book just as he does on television, which is to say a thoughtful person and a regular guy who happens to have Hall of Fame talent. He is very open about the mistakes that he has made along the way (although you're not going to hear any wilds tales of the road--if there are any) and he writes at some length about his growth and increasing maturity. He is also very open about his and his family's relationship to the Orioles. He doesn't carry any grudges about his father's firing as manager at the beginning of the 1988 season for example, but he doesn't gloss over the hurt that he did feel, either.
In The Only Way I Know, Cal narrates his career chronologically and while I found the story of his minor league days interesting, the book really picks up speed in the last third when an older Cal reflects on his consecutive games played streak and the state of major league baseball. He certainly has the best explanation that I've yet read for the difference between Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium and the new Camden Yards: "I do think you can say with some validity that Camden Yards represents the modern game of baseball as entertainment, while Memorial Stadium represented the game of baseball as just that--the game of baseball, take it or leave it."
Honest and sincere, The Only Way I Know is a must read for all Ripken fans, any Oriole fans, and baseball fans in general who are interested in the insights of one of the game's most iconic players.
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