If you walkedinto my room, you would not guess my hero. You'd see Star Warsstuff all over my walls, so you'd think my hero is LukeSkywalker or Han Solo. Well, you'd be wrong. If you reallylook at my walls, you'll notice something out of place. Thereis a plaque with the photo and the card of baseball's"Iron Man."

Most think I like Cal Ripken, Jr.because he plays baseball and gets paid a lot of money for it.Not so. He is my hero because he goes to work and does hisjob. The first day Earl Weaver put young Cal Ripken, Jr. in atshort stop for an injured player, the consecutive games recordbegan. Late last season, Cal got his first day off since1981.

You couldn't go to work for 2,632 (his gamestreak) days straight. Everyone takes sick days, vacations andother reasons for skipping work. Amaz-ingly, Cal avoided thedisabled list and sickness. That makes me want to be ahealthier person. Sometimes I can't help but feel lousy.Fortunately for Cal, he got sick during off-season. The onlyreason Cal decided not to work September 20, 1998 is becauseof the media attention to the consecutive game record.

Almost everyone has a hero who has done somethingmeaningful. If your hero is Michael Jordan, it might bebecause of what he did for basketball, Albert Einstein for theTheory of Relativity or Sally Ride for first woman in space.These are all worthy heroes. My hero is a baseball star. So hebroke a long-standing record; so did Mark McGwire. That's notwhy Cal Ripken, Jr. is my hero. He's my hero because he likedoing his job, does it well, and does it every day.