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If one had the opportunity to ask a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer a question, what would be asked?
Aidan Pieper, a 14-year-old shortstop and pitcher for the St. Charles North 14U travel team, took his best shot.
![Currently down in Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a week-long tournament – hosted by 2007 HOF inductee, Cal Ripken Jr. – Pieper's team had just finished posing for a group picture with the 19-time All Star and took turns shaking his hand.
Ripken, of course, is perhaps best known as the "Iron Man" – a nickname earned after the former Baltimore Oriole completed the longest streak of consecutive games played in baseball history (2,632).
Pieper asked: "Mr. Ripken, out of your consecutive games played, did you ever want to take a game off due to you being tired?"
Ripken, via Pieper, then replied: "Yeah, there were games where I was tired, where I was sick and games where I really just didn't feel it [to play]."
Ripken, who accumulated more than 3,000 hits and 400 home runs, then elaborated a piece of advice all players can adhere to.
"With that being said, you always just have to move forward – no matter the circumstances," Ripken continued.
"It was really exciting," Pieper said of the interaction. "It was really cool to meet him...All that I really knew about him was I knew he was a Hall of Famer. He was a very good shortstop."](6cf449f9-c23f-4bcc-ad79-afceb0c0f00a/image-pv_web.jpg)
Currently down in Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a week-long tournament – hosted by 2007 HOF inductee, Cal Ripken Jr. – Pieper's team had just finished posing for a group picture with the 19-time All Star and took turns shaking his hand.
Ripken, of course, is perhaps best known as the "Iron Man" – a nickname earned after the former Baltimore Oriole completed the longest streak of consecutive games played in baseball history (2,632).
Pieper asked: "Mr. Ripken, out of your consecutive games played, did you ever want to take a game off due to you being tired?"
Ripken, via Pieper, then replied: "Yeah, there were games where I was tired, where I was sick and games where I really just didn't feel it [to play]."
Ripken, who accumulated more than 3,000 hits and 400 home runs, then elaborated a piece of advice all players can adhere to.
"With that being said, you always just have to move forward – no matter the circumstances," Ripken continued.
"It was really exciting," Pieper said of the interaction. "It was really cool to meet him...All that I really knew about him was I knew he was a Hall of Famer. He was a very good shortstop."
Two other St. Charles groups also got an up close view of baseball immortality.
The Knights and Saints 12U travel baseball teams travel to Cooperstown, N.Y., which is where the MLB Hall of Fame is located. The program has been going there for about 11 years.
Cooperstown offers two experiences, All-Star Village and Dreams Park. The travel program opts for the Village route, a tournament of about 50 teams from all over the country.
"There's not many week-long tournaments back then, and this was the one to go to...especially for 12 [year-olds]," St. Charles travel baseball president Jim Laskowski said.
The 14U teams take the trip to Myrtle Beach, and have been going there for about eight to 10 years. Each registered team gets at least six guaranteed games to play.
At the "Surf's Up" tournament, the Saints team took first place in the turn-2 relay skills competition. The North Stars placed third – only about a second behind the first place time – and the Saints also won their first game versus the Spikes from Kansas, 6-0.
"Myrtle Beach is more like a last hurrah for the travel teams," said Laskowski, as the teams eventually move on to their respective high schools.
"The most exciting aspect [is] just being there with your team," said Pieper, who pitched about three innings with five strikeouts during North's 2-1 victory over the Vaughan Vikings (Canada).
"Win or lose, when it comes down to it, it's just really fun to play [at the facilities]. When you win, it's the icing on the cake...it's a great time," Pieper continued.
The travel baseball program is a competitive experience that supports both high schools. Registration for the 2019 season was announced a week ago. For specific dates for tryouts, based on age level, visit stctravelbaseball.com.