Cal Ripken The Only Way I Know Essay, Research Paper

The relationship that this book has with psychology is a very familiar one. One would not expect to look at this book with a psychological view, unless you look into the deeper meanings of Ripken and what his thought process is. The book allows you to see what a boy s point of view of a family that grew up in a modest fashion, with baseball being prevalent throughout his life.

After reading the book and asking myself what Mr. Ripken was thinking during his life and the content of the book I find myself relating it to Psychology. You can see how Ripken developed into a player from his point of view and how he handled himself mentally. You can see how he his family, mostly his dad has influenced him throughout his younger days and all the way through his professional career. By reading of what his mind interpreted and the sights and sounds of the way he perceived things made this a highly psychological book. You can almost analyze Ripken by reading through the book and seeing first hand what he was thinking and personal details to what he thought was important.

The thesis of the book lies directly in the title. I remember reading through the whole book, wondering what the whole purpose in writing, or what was the motivation for the book other that to better understand the consecutive game streak that Ripken now holds. Doing the only thing that I know how to do. This simple statement is the thesis of the book. At first this is hard to believe, but the whole book describes it perfectly.

While growing up Ripken only two things: baseball and traveling. Hard work and games were part of his life. Ripken learns at an early age that he is not rich, not specifically talented, but a hard worker. He takes this attitude and applies it to baseball, following the example of his father. The simple for reason, which is also the thesis, is because this is the only way that he knew how.

The treatment that Ripken gets is a very familiar one. He is the oldest of four children, so this automatically put him in leadership role. This derives from his father being gone so often playing in the extensive list of minor leagues that Cal Ripken Sr. played up and down the East Coast. Since his father was away many times, this put Jr. in the leadership role of the household. This helps Ripken physiological view of how to handle diversity in baseball. He is and always will be the leader of the team or family that he is apart of.

During the book you can tell that Jr. has a very deep relationship with his father. Although they do not spend much time together, the time that they do spend together Jr. spends a lot of time writing about. The concentration of his limited time with his father shows needs to reach out for a role model to look up to.

Ripken also shows a very broad view when it come to life. The constant traveling during his childhood and teenage years show that he experienced the rigors of a constantly changing environment. The psychological view here shows how Jr. adapts to his environments by making games and depending heavily on his family life without his dad being around many times for advice.

Of course the special issue of which a large amount of the latter chapters of the book concentrate on the consecutive game streak that Ripken broke on the night 5th and 6th of September. He explains what his thinking was during streak week and the craziness that followed. Ripken illustrates that he requires no special attention, other than he does his job everyday to the best of his ability. The attention that week showed himself how humble he is and how is not different from the man down the street who goes to work everyday. He is and always will be doing the only thing.