Cal Ripken Jr. Teaches Perseverance

April 1, 2007 — -- Baseball's iron man, Cal Ripkin Jr., spells out his push-it-to-the-limit philosophy in a new book, "Get in the Game."

Cal Ripkin Jr.: My dad gave me a certain approach, and that approach was really, really simple. It was: It's your responsibility to come to the park ready to play. …

We all have our moments of weaknesses and our low points. And we all feel sorry for ourselves at certain times. And I was no different than anyone else. There was an expectation that tomorrow would be better, and that you push yourself through there and find out that it would be. …

You have to be willing to go lay [it] on the line. But once you're laying it on the line, you're going to run into many bumps in the road, many challenges. And sometimes the easy way out is to pull back and say, "It's too tough," or "I can't do it," you know, "I can't hit this particular pitcher" -- and to force yourself to move through that, to persevere, to get through the tough times, whether it's your own personal struggles, your team struggles. You know, that makes you a better person, and it arms you with better skills to go forward and meet the challenges of tomorrow.