Consistency

For as long as I can remember, my entire life really, I've been a fan of consistency.  I've worked at the same place for nearly 16 years now.  I've purchased exactly three cars in my adult life, every one of which was a Honda Civic.  I've posted on this blog at least once in every single calendar month since January of 2008.  Most recently, yesterday marked the first time where I posted every single day of a calendar month.

I think this trait is a big part of the reason why I idolized Cal Ripken Jr. so much as a kid.  Ripken broke Gehrig's record just days after my 13th birthday.  I can still remember watching the game and ceremony on my parents' television, and thinking to myself that whatever I ended up doing in life I hoped I could be as dedicated to it as Cal was to his craft.  I'd like to think I have been in some small way(s).  To this day, when the alarm goes off on a Monday morning, it's pitch black and cold outside, and I've got a day full of stressful meetings and issues ahead, I think of Cal. 

I couldn't think of a more appropriate time to show off a recent Ripken addition than when I'm on the longest consecutive posting streak of my blog's history!  Behold!

Growing up, Ripken's multi-player 1982 Topps RC was one of my most prized baseball cards, maybe my most prized baseball card actually.  I never managed to land a copy of his '82 Donruss rookie though, until now.  I grabbed this one late last year when I decided I wanted to add some of my favorite '80s cards to my collection in graded mint condition.

I would say this one gets the bronze medal if you were to rank the "big 4" Ripken rookies from 1982.  The Topps Traded card is obviously the holy grail of Ripken rookies.  I'd put the multiplayer Topps flagship rookie just a hair above this one as well, though to be fair nostalgia is probably a big factor there for me.  I certainly like this card better than the fuzzy photograph Fleer went with for their Ripken rookie.  Donruss at least gives us a nice, clean portrait of a young pimply-faced Cal, who couldn't have possibly known at this stage what life had in store for him.

Still haven't managed to master the art of scanning the backs of PSA slabs...

So, there's my newest card of Cal Ripken Jr.  He's someone who this 36-year-old considered a role model during my formative years, and I'm glad that I did!  Streak aside, it's always refreshing in the era of free agency to see any superstar play their entire career with one team.

I'd love to someday feature his Topps Traded and Fleer rookies here on the blog to complete what I'm dubbing the "Mount Rushmore of '82 Ripkens", but I'm in no rush.  After all, with any luck I'll continue to follow Cal's example of consistency, and will be posting here every month for the next 11 years...