Busting with excitement

As the perks of a Hall of Fame career piled up, Tony Gwynn let his mind wander back to his humble beginnings in pro baseball.

He roomed with John Kruk in rookie ball in the summer of 1981 and the two rode their bikes to the ballpark.

"I can remember us sitting on the back of a bus in Walla Walla, Wash., it's 100 degrees and the windows wouldn't open, we're drinking Coca-Colas and talking about how great one day it would be if we could ever get to the big leagues," Gwynn said.

He made it, all right, all the way to Cooperstown, N.Y.

One of the game's greatest contact hitters, Gwynn will be inducted into the Hall of Fame today, along with Cal Ripken Jr.

"I think the magnitude of it is starting to hit me square in the face, because every night I have trouble sleeping, and every day you have to write something down," Gwynn said. "I look forward to it, but at the same time, I'm scared to death."

His orientation trip to Cooperstown several weeks ago gave him an idea of what he's getting into. He saw Jackie Robinson's glove, held Babe Ruth's bat, read Walter Johnson's plaque.

"Yeah, I would have loved to have taken a whack off of him or Babe Ruth or any of those guys," said Gwynn, who earned a spot in Cooperstown with a sweet lefthanded stroke responsible for 3,141 hits, eight NL batting titles, and a career .338 average in 20 seasons, all with the San Diego Padres.

"Part of the fun for me with the Hall of Fame is just imagining," he said. "Imagine what it would have been like to play against Lou Gehrig or Jackie Robinson or any of those guys, and to know you're going to have a plaque in there, where they have a plaque. Oh, that's pretty cool. It just doesn't get any better than that."

Ripken will forever be known as the Iron Man. The nickname captures the perseverance of the former Baltimore Orioles star, who played in 2,632 consecutive games from 1982-98. It would be an injustice, however, to summarize the 21-year career solely by The Streak.

It wasn't so much that he participated in those games; it's how he played them. Ripken rarely missed infield or batting practice. And, of course, he never skipped a game for nearly 17 years.

"You are who you are, and you hope your actions show who you are," Ripken said. "But at the same time, I worry about what the kids pick up from the game. You're representing the game, your team, and the organization at the same time, as well as yourself."

Gwynn acknowledged his friend's contribution to baseball in a video tribute during the Orioles' sendoff ceremony to Ripken Tuesday. "You epitomize to me what is good about the game," Gwynn told Ripken. "The way you went about your business, the way you played the game and, more importantly, the way you dealt with people. You set a great example for all of us."

Ripken retired in 2002 as one of seven players with more than 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. He won two MVP awards, was the 1982 Rookie of the Year, won two Gold Gloves, and was named to the All-Star team an AL-record 19 times.

Gwynn wouldn't reveal much about his induction speech, but he does plan to acknowledge several Hall of Famers who will be sitting behind him on the podium.

"A lot of them helped me more than they'll ever know, because I was always asking questions," he said. "I was always being a pest because I wanted to get better, and I felt like, who better, let me go to Rod Carew, ask him a question. Let me ask Mike Schmidt. Ozzie Smith. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron."