Denis Sartwell got his tickets in the splash zone for Friday night’s game less than 12 hours before first pitch. The 43-year-old Laurel native’s friend had them first, but chose to go to the Norfolk Tides game instead. Knowing how big of a Cal Ripken Jr. fan Sartwell is, he was his first call to give away the seats that would place him so close to his childhood idol.
Ripken holds a special place in Sartwell’s heart. He attended many games in Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards with his father, who has since died. This provided a reminder of those joyful times.
His passion has held strong decades later. Sartwell lost a battle with his wife to name their daughter Ripken — they settled on Camden instead.
“This is my happy place,” he said.
Ripken was just feet away from Sartwell when he appeared as the guest splasher Friday, the 29th anniversary of the former shortstop passing Lou Gehrig for the most consecutive games played in MLB history. To celebrate, he ditched his usual vantage point of section 34, climbed the perch in left field donning a custom “Iron Splash” City Connect jersey, and doused fans like Sartwell with cold water on the warm September evening.
Iron Splash is here pic.twitter.com/OgGcKca51u
— Taylor Lyons (@taylorjlyons) September 6, 2024
Ripken, now a part-owner of the club, is around the ballpark more than ever these days. His involvement is being noticed and inspiring confidence in the future.
“We had high hopes in [2012] and ’14,” Sartwell said. “But we knew it was only gonna go so far, because Angelos was only gonna let it go so far. Now we have hope.”
Jimmy Macfarlane, a few rows ahead of Sartwell, bought his tickets in March, months before the Orioles announced Ripken as the guest splasher: “We got really lucky,” he said.
The Perry Hall resident also watched Ripken as a child. On the Fourth of July in 1995, the season Ripken broke Gehrig’s record, Macfarlane leaned on the wall near the home dugout of Camden Yards hoping Ripken would appear for an autograph. There was no chance the star everyone was there to see would pick Macfarlane’s ball out of the sea of outstretched arms of young fans, he thought. But Ripken did.
Macfarlane, also sitting within the distance Ripken’s assortment of hoses reached, has since lost the baseball. But his fandom hasn’t waned.
“All the new guys are really good with the fans,” Macfarlane said. “You can tell with every little interaction.”
Ripken’s brief appearance as guest splasher was uneventful — the Orioles were held without a hit in his two innings in left field. He still made his mark on the night for many, spending the downtime shaking hands, taking photos and signing autographs for anyone who asked.
“I want so bad to just get a selfie with him,” Sartwell said before the game. “I’d probably cry.”
The former shortstop, along with several other former athletes and businesspeople, became a part-owner in the team this offseason when a group led by David Rubenstein purchased the franchise from the Angelos family.
The group took over 40% of the club in a deal that became official the day before opening day. They became full owners in August when the sale was finalized.
Ripken, a Havre de Grace native who spent all 21 seasons of his career with the Orioles, was a 19-time All-Star and two-time Most Valuable Player. He led Baltimore to the 1983 World Series title, still the club’s last championship.
Other guest splashers have included Rubenstein, former All-Star outfielder Adam Jones and musician and superfan Joan Jett. Ripken, a Hall of Famer and one of just three Orioles to eclipse 3,000 hits, is familiar with being in elite company. Friday, he joined a more exclusive club.
Ripken now tracks his former club in a different way, with more of a stake in the results than before. He returned to his dry, cushioned seat behind home plate after his appearance in the splash zone to watch the rest of the contest against the Tampa Bay Rays.
It was an innocuous, fun getaway for Ripken. But for fans, the energy and spirit the now part-owner brings offers hope that was absent until now.
“It’s fun to be an Orioles fan again,” said James Rogers, who came with Sartwell from Laurel and sat next to him. “It was not fun for, like, 20 years in a row. It’s fun now.”