Catie Griggs, Bert Jones, Keyon Martin and Cal Ripken Jr. recently chatted with Glenn Clark Radio. Here’s what they had to say.
“The short answer is yes. And that’s not just a statement of today. If you look at the start of the season, payroll is up dramatically year over year. And obviously just a couple of days ago we had the remarkable privilege of getting to announce a long-term extension with Samuel Basallo. Our ownership is making sure — this year has not played the way that we all hoped, I don’t think there’s any sugarcoating that — but that’s an opportunity for us to look, learn, figure out what are those things that we believe are going to be required looking forward to bring winning baseball back to Baltimore.”
– Orioles president of business operations Catie Griggs Aug. 29 on whether fans can expect greater investment from the team as the costs of Birdland membership plans rise
“What a player he is. He’s pretty special, isn’t he? I sent a message to him I don’t know how many years ago, ‘Please stop running like you are. I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt.’ And then now I’m saying, ‘You’re unbelievable. Don’t stop anything. Just do everything the way you do it!'”
– Former NFL MVP and Baltimore Colts quarterback Bert Jones Sept. 5 on how impressed he is by fellow former MVP Lamar Jackson
“It was a special moment just to see how excited she was. That’s just the best feeling in the world, knowing that you made your parents proud. And then even as a parent, knowing that your kids are living out their dreams. That’s such a once-in-a-lifetime feeling that we both got.”
– Ravens cornerback Keyon Martin Aug. 29 on getting to call his mom to tell her he made the team as an undrafted free agent
“I’ve held it for 30 years, trying to figure out, ‘How do I give it back to him?’ At [the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation] gala this year … I invited Jim Gott back almost on the pretext of remembering [the first game of the streak]. So when I got up there, I put him in a position where I presented him the ball back in front of all of the people and I said, ‘You can’t give it back.'”
– Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. Aug. 27 on celebrating the 30th anniversary of 2131 by giving former big league pitcher Jim Gott a ball from the first game of the streak — which was Gott’s first career win — that Gott had originally gifted to him on Sept. 6, 1995
Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles, Indianapolis Colts, Kenya Allen/PressBox and the Baltimore Orioles