BALTIMORE — From the past to the present. Cal to the Kyles. Orioles greats to the newest Birds. They all paid their respects to ‘Mr. Oriole’.
"I would have loved to have been teammates with Brooks. I missed him by a few years. But in many ways - growing up watching Brooks, learning from him - there are a lot of us that feel we were already on his team. I will miss him. We will miss him," said Orioles legend and hall of famer Cal Ripken Jr. as he started to get emotional. "But he leaves us with so many great memories that will live on."
The way Brooks Robinson played the game and lit up the community will live on in the current O’s. A handful of players from the American League East division champions were on hand at Robinson's public memorial on Monday morning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
"I think everybody around the game appreciated how he did on the field. But even just listening today you hear how he was off the field," said Orioles pitcher Kyle Gibson. "We’re going to be non-baseball players a lot longer than we are baseball players. If you can have one tenth of the impact that Brooks has had in the community while you’re playing, it’s an honor."
Next up for these current Orioles is a run at a World Series. They get back to workouts to prepare for the divisional playoffs on Tuesday at Camden Yards. It’s not far-fetched to say there will be a little more motivation and inspiration to bring another title to Baltimore.
"Rest in peace, Dad. We love you. We will miss you and if there is anything you can do up there to help bring another World Series championship to Baltimore this year we would greatly appreciate it," said Robinson's son, Brooks David Robinson, during the ceremony.
"It’s ironic, isn’t it? 2023, start the playoffs, that’s not even fair to the other teams that you have another player up there rooting on you," said Joe Torre, former Major League Baseball player and manager.
"The five that is going to be on our sleeve, the five that is going to be on the field, the one on the warehouse, it will be motivating understanding what he did for this city," added Gibson. "We have the same opportunity here in 2023, to hopefully invigorate some energy here into the city and that’s what we are going to try to do."
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