No matter what he says in public, I can't believe that anything but a pursuit of the record kept Cal from taking one of these respites.
It has certainly had an effect on the Orioles' opponents, however. What pitcher would dare pitch Cal inside, what baserunner even think of sliding hard on a double play, and take a chance of being branded one of baseball's all-time bad guys?
As the big day inevitably approached, Ripken began to transcend his role as an athlete to that territory so dreaded by Charles Barkely: the role model.
Sportswriters all over the country lauded him as a wonderful example of a hard-working, no-nonsense professional, the kind of person every child should aspire to be like.
One day on a local radio show, amidst the Cal-worshipping, a man called in to say that he had been working at his company for 40 years and never missed a single day.
There must be many men and women who can make similar claims, all of whom must have gotten pretty annoyed when they saw the nation's fascination with the streak.
But then again, in a society in which athletes make a hundred times what teachers do, who can be surprised?
Congratulations, Cal. But enough is enough already.