Barbara Mikulski: “I rise with a great deal of joy and enthusiasm this morning, as the senior Senator from Maryland, to be a part of what…”

“I rise with a great deal of joy and enthusiasm this morning, as the senior Senator from Maryland, to be a part of what all of Maryland is doing today. We are on the road to Cooperstown. We are literally in our cars or renting transportation to be heading to Cooperstown, and we are going to Cooperstown in our hearts, because on Sunday, our beloved all-around Marylander, all-around American hero, Cal Ripken, Jr. will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. We are so excited about this because we want the world to know Cal Ripken as we know Cal Ripken. What a great guy. The world knows him as a fantastic baseball player, and he certainly is. I will go into his record in a minute. But he is also a fantastic human being, a devoted father, a faithful husband, a man of the community, giving his time and energy to philanthropic work. When we call him the 'Iron Man,' he absolutely is. Throughout his 21-year career, he has been the epitome of 'Iron Man,' both on and off the field.”