A Conversation with Baseball's Cal Ripken Jr. to kick off this year's gathering of thousands of park and recreation professionals at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore. By Cort Jones A s a baseball player growing up, I always had those pregame butterflies before taking the field - but they always went away the moment I began running out to that sacred ground called shortstop, between second and third base. That's where the action was. That's where my favorite player stood. That's where I could pretend I was Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball taught me a lot of things - both as a fan and former player. I learned patience waiting on a slow curveball. I learned the importance of teamwork when practicing how to turn a double play and how to be a team player when a teammate would take that dreaded walk back to the dugout with their head hung in disappointment after striking out. I learned how to win humbly, lose graciously and that until the final out is called and the lights have been shut off, there is always an opportunity to come out on top. Players like Cal Ripken Jr. taught me and other budding baseball players these things without ever being aware they were doing so. Ripken - also known as baseball's " Iron Man " - is a Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Famer who played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. Among his many professional achievements, he is most notable for breaking Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played on September 6, 1995. He retired in 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, where he made an 50 Parks & Recreation | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G