Ripken talks about the Kevin Costner myth (without actually talking about it)
Cal Ripken was on NPR this afternoon, promoting his new book, Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference. The host, Neal Conan (who kinda used to work for Ripken), asked the Hall of Fame shortstop a question that had been submitted by a reader.
The reader wanted to know the truth behind a rumor that he said had been floating around Baltimore for years: that the Orioles once canceled a night game against the Mariners because Ripken was M.I.A. and the team didn’t want his consecutive games played streak to come to an end.
What the reader didn’t say, and what Conan presumably didn’t know, is that the rumor is much juicier than that. From ESPN:
Consider Cal’s streak, which according to one outlandish rumor was supposedly kept alive by a supposed fake power outage at Camden Yards after the Iron Man supposedly was arrested for supposedly beating up Kevin Costner after supposedly catching the actor supposedly sleeping with his wife. The rumor spread enough that Costner even went on the radio to deny it.
Ripken answered the question without alluding to Costner. He called the rumor bogus and said he was at the park that night and even warmed up on the infield. And, for what it’s worth, Snopes.com agrees with Ripken’s account.
There’s no credible evidence to support the story about Ripken and Costner. Still, I think I’m going to choose to believe that story, because I love the idea of Ripken beating the snot out of Kevin Costner. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Kevin Costner the actor. He gave us Field of Dreams and Bull Durham and for that I owe him a huge debt. But Kevin Costner the human being … eeeww.
You can listen to the Ripken interview here.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Gotta love conspiracy theories…I will choose to believe that story too…it’s just too good
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April 15th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I’m torn between two sides on this rumor. Stay with me on this one. The rumor is true about Ripken pounding Costner. The rumor about the Orioles faking the light outage is not. They are two Separate incidents.
I heard about Ripken’s night in a Baltimore Jail from a friend of a women who walked (former Orioles Catcher) Chris Hoiles dogs. Kevin Costner went on a date with Cal’s wife Kelly. Cal found out and punched Kevin Costner.
If It happened the night before the power outage don’t you think Cal Ripken could have gotten bail before the start of the game. Especially in Baltimore.
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April 16th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I was at that game. The lights did indeed go out around the top ring of the stadium.
It was a very, very strange evening, and I’m pretty sure I remember CR Jr. taking IF.
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April 17th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
i used to work at the stadium in the late 90’s. i occasionally worked with a lady in the baltimore police dept. she confirmed through her counterparts the police were called to the ripken household for a domestic disturbance and costner was at the house…as for ripken decking him i do not know…its quite possible the power went out at camden yards, ripken went home and found costner with his wife who may have had no idea that the power was out at the stadium and the game would not be played.
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April 18th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Actually, the version of this story that I heard, and I lived in Maryland at the time, was that Cal got physical with his wife, not Costner.
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April 18th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Well that would be upsetting indeed. Everyone likes a good Kevin Costner-punched -in-the-face story. Not so much a spousal abuse story…
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July 11th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Im a huge huge fan of Kevin. And if Ripken says its not true… Then there’s no valid reason to believe this story. Honestly, its stupid.
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