At 2:45 a.m. on Sept. 7, 1995, Orioles nonstop shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. headed through the tunnel from the Camden Yards clubhouse to the parking lot. He high-fived two stadium cleanup workers, then hopped into the back of a Lincoln Town Car, leaving Oriole Park as the greatest Iron Man in major league history. Three policemen on motorcycles escorted him out of the lot, roaring past a cluster of screaming fans and one older gentleman holding a sign that read:
"Cal, Thank You For Saving Baseball."
Thirty years ago, Ripken did precisely that, reinvigorating a game severely damaged by a work stoppage that cancelled the 1994 World Series.