On August 1st, 1994, Baltimore’s Cal Ripken, Jr. became only the second major leaguer to play 2,000 straight games as the Orioles beat Minnesota, 1-0.

There are a handful of historic baseball games that I have had the privilege of attending in person. The Twins-Orioles game on August 1st, 1994, is one of those games.

My brother Jon, who was big Orioles fan and a really big Cal Ripken fan was there with me when Ripken played in his 2000th straight game on his way to surpassing Lou Gehrig’s famous streak of 2130 consecutive games played. (Ripken ended up with a streak of 2632 games.)

Ripken’s 2000th game at the Metrodome remains, of course, one of my favorite baseball memories, along with Game 7 or the 1991 World Series, and Eddie Murray’s 3000th hit which I have written about in this blog.

Those historic moments are obvious candidates for favorite baseball memories. But when I really think about why I love the game of baseball I realize it is really about many less obvious moments.

They are moments big and small. Moments in person and watching on tv. Moments like:

• Being at a Twins-Royals game early and watching Bo Jackson experimenting hitting left-handed and sending moon shots over the right field hefty bag.
• Having Rickey Henderson nod his head just after I yelled out to him “you would have gotten that stolen base, Rickey.”
• Watching a game with Sue this year at home when Oakland rookie Max Schuemann got his first Big League hit, a home run, that landed close to where his parents and family were sitting.
• Being at Old Comiskey Park on the night Royal’s Willie Wilson returned from suspension
• Sitting just a few feet away from the place where Twins left fielder Dan Gladden pretended to catch a ball that actually hit the plexiglass
• Kirby Puckett nodding at me after I just congratulated him on a great catch

My list could go on and on because that is one of the things that make baseball great. It is filled with moments, big and small, that are incandescent and memorable. Just as life is.