Ripken says his final farewells, retires

BALTIMORE -- In his final game in the major leagues, Cal Ripken didn't hit a dramatic home run. He didn't even get a hit.

It hardly mattered.

Ripken's career wasn't about clutch hits or home runs, even though he had plenty of both. The Baltimore Orioles' star attained worldwide fame because he showed up every day to play, whether he was hurt or mired in a miserable slump.

That is why he will forever be known as the Iron Man.

So, even though his 0-for-3 performance Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox put a 2-for-48 finish on his Hall of Fame career, Ripken nevertheless drew more cheers than a former president, baseball's commissioner and several players already in the Hall of Fame.

Bill Clinton, major league commissioner Bud Selig and former Oriole greats Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson and Earl Weaver were among the big names on hand for the Iron Man's final game, a contest against the Boston Red Sox that had absolutely no impact on the standings.

But it meant everything to Baltimore fans, many of whom paid $1,000 a ticket to say goodbye to a hardworking athlete whose impact stretched far beyond the boundaries of Maryland.

Baseball will miss him, too.

"Cal Ripken is one of the greatest players of our generation," Selig told the sellout crowd of 48,807. "He has become the symbol for the American work ethic, a symbol for the American working man. He also became a symbol of everything that is great about the game of baseball."

Ripken leaves behind the legacy of playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games from 1982 to 1998.