Cal Ripken, Jr. weighs in on A-Rod's return to baseball

Cal Ripken, Jr. spent his entire 21-year career as a shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. "The Iron Man" will always be known for playing a record 2,632 consecutive games in 17 seasons, a record that surpassed Lou Gehrig's 2,131 game-streak.

Now in retirement, Ripken enjoys sharing his life experiences with kids through a series of books, but the Hall-of-Famer said he misses being on a Major League Baseball team.

"I don't miss actually the playing, the training, the getting ready for the season, but you do miss being on the inside, knowing all the stuff that that happens within baseball, you feel part of the club," Ripken Jr. said. "When you're outside, all of the sudden, now it seems like you're just like every other person wondering what's happening in this, so I feel like I'm on the outside a little bit."

Spring training is well underway, the preseason weeks Ripken recalled as "the best time, period."

Among the players eager for the start of another year is Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. After a year-long suspension for violating MLB's drug agreement and labor contract, he is back training with the team, but won't play in the spring opener.

Support is mixed among fans, but of those excited for Rodriguez's return is Ripken. They were introduced 23 years ago at spring training in Fort Lauderdale. Ripken reminisced on a 16-year-old A-Rod.

"I met him when he was young. He was a good-hearted kid; he wanted to play baseball, he had a dream to be a baseball player," Ripken said. "Now, I'm sure he's regretted some things he's gone through, but at this stage of his life I look at him and say, 'I want him to enjoy the game of baseball.'"

Nevertheless, the scandal's stain on his public image could linger for some time. While some still question if Rodriguez's reaction to the ordeal was sufficient, Ripken said people are ready to move on.

"You could look at what he's done and how he's handled that and you could offer some criticism if you want, but in the end, I think we're all just throwing up our hands and saying 'enough, enough of all that. Let's just play ball and focus on what going on between the white lines,'" Ripken said. "It might be a little bit of a distraction for his teammates which is sad, it might be a really difficult time for him to relax and enjoy the last parts of his career, but my hope is he can."

As teams prepare for this season, MLB has implemented a number of changes. New rules include reducing the time between pitches, limiting space between certain commercial breaks and resumption of play and eliminating the need for managers to leave the dugout to challenge an umpire's call.

Ripken said he doesn't believe there should be time restrictions placed on the overall duration, but would "encourage the game to be played a little more briskly."

"The guys that really know how to play, there's a pace that's really fun to be a part of and that's really fun to watch," he said.

Now, Ripken is focusing on his career as an author. His New York Times best-selling "All -Stars" series teaches kids about sportsmanship and social issues young players face.

"I always like influencing kids in a positive way," he said. "We did some early kids' books that were really well received and I was a reader, I like to read. And for some reason when you write issues down in a book, it becomes more factual, it's more meaningful. And it's less emotional for the kids to actually think about somebody else having an issue and relating it back to them."

Ripken's newest installment is called "Out at Home," the fifth of his series.

"The very first one was a lot about my own personal experience; it was 'Hothead,'" he said. "I was the shortstop that if things didn't go right, I threw a helmet, a bat..."

Ripken said, as a young player, he was a hot head.

"I didn't' know how to deal with that and part of the lesson is my mom of all people pulled me down and said that energy is good that you have when those things happen, but you should channel that in a positive direction," he said.