"It was one of those fluke things, but it was perfect timing," Desmond said.
Ripken, who was doing a game for TBS, was aware that Desmond was having the worst season of his career. Desmond's batting average was hovering just over .200, and the Iron Man wanted Desmond to know that he was not alone. Ripken told Desmond that back in 1993, he, too, was mired in a slump, but he managed to get out of it.
"Through the first [47] games, I was hitting .199, and I finished with a pretty good year. You will be all right," Ripken told Desmond.