Ripken eventually sat down in the dugout next to his best friend, Brady Anderson, and shook his head in disbelief. "I understand why this day is amazing and why tomorrow is amazing," Anderson said after the game. "But when you play with Cal every day, it seems normal. But I know Cal has been moved by all of this."

No one on the team knew Ripken better than Anderson, who came to the Orioles as a minor league prospect in a trade with the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Mike Boddicker in 1988. Anderson had come into his own as a star player in 1992, when he set leadoff hitting records with twenty-one home runs, eighty runs batted in, and fifty-three stolen bases. When Anderson first came to the Orioles and got to know Ripken, the shortstop asked him what he thought The Streak meant. "I told him it would mean that he would be remembered as one of the greatest players in history," Anderson said. "He said he hadn't thought of it that way."

Before the game, as they always did, Ripken and Anderson were stretching out in right field. Anderson looked up at the warehouse, where the numbers were furled up, waiting to drop later on to mark Ripken's place in history alongside Lou Gehrig. "I was looking up at the numbers and asked him if he was getting nervous," Anderson said. "He said, 'Yeah.' I think the week will mean more to him in the future, and it will be a relief when it's over."

The attention meant a lot to him that night, though, and the Orioles' post-game festivities were both reverent and light, with the emphasis on light. Team management got some criticism for some of the post-game moments, with rock stars and soap-opera stars, and talk-show host David Letterman's top ten reasons for Ripken to take a day off. They were as follows:

- 10. Not only about to break Lou Gehrig's record, but claims to have had daily conversations with him.
- 9. His infield chatter consists of, "Man I'm tired, man I'm tired."
- 8. Also about to break "consecutive days without showering record."
- 7. Recently removed appendix during seventh-inning stretch.
- 6. Built his own Wonder Bra using two batting helmets.
- 5. For the last 350 games, has been throwing like a girl.
- 4. Actually enjoys the stadium nachos.
- 3. Now getting mail delivered to second base.
- 2. He is starting to think that old dude who sells pretzels is kind of hot.
- 1. Five words: Jock full of stadium mustard.

The Orioles were criticized for cheapening the event with some of these program selections, but this would be a two-night celebration, and the following night would prove to be more than reverential enough. Some big moments took place this night, though, too, mixing in with the foolishness. Earl Weaver, Ripken's first manager and the one who had the foresight to eventually move him to shortstop, threw out the first pitch. Hank Aaron, baseball's all-time home-run king, presented Ripken with his Atlanta Braves jersey. One of the all-time heroes of sports in Baltimore, the Colts Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, presented Ripken with a blue jersey with number 19 on it.

But the most touching moment of the celebration night was when little-known pitcher Jim Gott came out of the dugout and presented Ripken with the ball from Ripken's first game of The Streak, which was on May 30, 1982. The game was also Gott's first major league victory when he was playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Ripken was moved by the gesture and even tried to convince Gott to keep the ball. "That was hard," Ripken said. "I didn't want to accept it. The thing about baseball is that everybody carves their own moments. I told him, 'This is yours. I'm honored that you gave it to me. I might be more honored if you kept it.'"

After the game, Ripken met with an army of international reporters who came to Camden Yards that night to record the historic event. He said he felt some relief now that 2,130 had come and gone. "There seems to be a little easing of the pressure," he said. "It hasn't been great pressure, like a home-run record or a hitting streak. It's an event, and we're moving through that event, so it's getting a little easier."

Ripken didn't leave Camden Yards until shortly after 2 a.m. He left realizing that the moment everyone had anticipated-far more than he-was nearly at hand. "Now I knew it was inevitable," he said. "The next day would be the record, and I was anticipating it now. It finally felt like there was a finish line, although there really isn't one, or even a starting line, in my mind."

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