By JOEY JOHNSTON

Tribune Staff Writer

(c) Tampa Bay Times. Originally published May 31, 2000.

ST. PETERSBURG – It was a typical performance for Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken. He launched his 412th career home run. He scored his 1,583rd run. He collected his 1,602nd RBI. His hit total swelled to 3,030.

“Every time out for Cal, it’s another milestone,” Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said.

Including the most impressive number, the one that will never be recorded in a record book.

Earlier Tuesday at Tropicana Field, prior to Baltimore’s 8-7 win against the Devil Rays, Ripken signed a few dozen more autographs. What’s his total now? A million? At least.

Someone once said Ripken’s consecutive-games streak probably would end on a wrist injury. Too many autographs. The guy couldn’t say no. He still can’t.

The streak ended, of course. Ripken asked out of the lineup in 1998, following his 2,632nd consecutive game. Now he’s facing his baseball mortality. A back injury twice forced him to the disabled list. Even after surgery, it still flares up.

So he shifted from baseball’s ironman to its full-time icon.

“Everywhere we go, it’s the same,” center fielder Brady Anderson said. “A ton of people lined up, waiting for Cal. He’s always so nice to people. He gives them such joy. I’m not sure he realizes how much he’s truly loved by the fans.”

RIPKEN’S NOT SURE he understands the enduring attention.

Sure, his workaday records will never be approached. But he has never won a batting championship or a home-run title. Watch him for a game and you might say, “So what?” Watch him for a season and you’ll probably say, “Wow!”

He’ll be 40 on Aug. 24. His contract is up, but he isn’t saying whether this is his last go-round. He seems at peace. Now that the milestones have been conquered – Lou Gehrig’s unbreakable mark, the 400 homers, the 3,000 hits – it’s again about baseball.

And autographs.

“Sometimes, I’ll think, “What’s the big deal about an autograph?’ ” Ripken said. “I didn’t grow up getting autographs from people. But I know it’s part of the fabric of this game. People have a passion about it, I guess.

“For me, it’s a way to connect with people. Am I too nice? I’m just being myself. I just know if you’re nice to people, they’ll generally be nice to you as well.”

RIPKEN’S CONGENIAL attitude with fans has served him well. Unwittingly, that’s how he met his wife, Kelly.

Several years ago, he was in a restaurant. Kelly’s mother, whom he didn’t know, approached him and started a conversation. “At that point in my life, being single, I had a lot of mothers coming up to me,” Ripken said with a laugh.

She asked him to sign a napkin with a message for her daughter, Kelly. Here’s what Ripken wrote.

Dear Kelly,

If you’re as attractive as your mother, I’m sorry I missed you.

A few weeks later, Kelly and her friends went to another restaurant. Ripken was making an appearance. Kelly tapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for being so nice to my mom.”

Ripken looked at her and said, “Is your name Kelly?”

Tuesday was another game, another city. He got a couple of hits. His team won. And he signed some autographs. It sounds like an interminable routine. For him, maybe, even though he always shows up with a smile.

“Cal’s a special guy, an ambassador,” Hargrove said.

For the fans, it’s a nice memory. One day, those neatly signed scraps of paper will represent the best of Cal Ripken.

Something that lasts from someone who endures.