A group of friends gathered last Friday night at a rain soaked campground just outside the village of Cooperstown, NY for a weekend that had been in the works for over a decade. All of us, just north of 30 and pals since high school, grew up in D.C.’s Maryland suburbs and were in town to celebrate the induction of Cal Ripken, Jr. into baseball’s Hall of Fame. The event was so much more than a weekend with the boys or a three day vacation. It was a pilgrimage of sorts, a chance for longtime friends to celebrate the career of our childhood hero. It might be of interest that one member of the gang brought along his family, which includes a 13-month old son named Cal.

Our story was far from unique as thousands of Orioles fans joined us in honoring Baltimore’s Iron Man. Cooperstown’s Main Street was teeming with orange and black throughout the weekend. Many Padres fans also made the cross-country trip to celebrate Tony Gwynn’s induction, but they were vastly outnumbered. As the weekend progressed, it became clear that the event was a pilgrimage not only to us, but to every one of the thousands that made the trek.

Photo from Hall of Fame website

While the Nationals’ arrival to D.C. was welcome, to many area residents it raised a bit of a conflict. The Baltimore Orioles, while presently a struggling franchise, are an organization with a rich and storied history. Many of us have been rooting for the Orioles for as long as we can remember. They may no longer be our hometown team, but the Birds will forever have our loyalty, despite the best efforts of one Peter Angelos, and we will continue to hope for the Oriole Way’s return to Baltimore. Ripken was an important figure to anyone who followed the Orioles during his career and, as a result, his popularity extends well past Baltimore’s borders and into the rest of Maryland, Virginia, and beyond.

It is no surprise that Ripken was inducted with 98.5% of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the third highest vote tally ever. Even if one removed the legacy defining streak of 2,632 consecutive games played from Cal’s career stats, he would still be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. With gold glove caliber defensive skills and one of only eight players with 400 career home runs and 3,000 hits, he redefined the shortstop position. A positive force within the community and an exceptional athlete, even those who do not support the Orioles cannot say anything bad about a man who receives the respect of so many, though we’re quite sure there are Yankees and Red Sox fans out there who might test this theory.

Anyone even remotely interested in baseball already knows of the ceremony’s highlights, whether it be the record crowd (estimated at 75,000 people), the record number of Hall-of-Famers present (53 out of 63 living members), the remarkable career stats of Cal and his fellow inductee Gwynn, or the emotional speeches that had them both choking up. Gwynn and Cal are among the last of a disappearing breed of professional athlete that embraces the responsibility that accompanies wealth and notoriety. Though both inductees were too gentlemanly to comment on the controversy surrounding Barry Bonds and his pending record breaking home run, its presence was felt throughout the ceremony.

The induction was not just a celebration of the good in baseball; it was also a reflection of the changed times within the sport. Many fans to whom we spoke were bemoaning the fact that Orioles fans have nothing to look forward to for several years to come. If there is a single most important reason for Sunday’s record attendance, it is that those present, Baltimore and San Diego fans alike, were longing for a level of character in sports whose time has likely passed.