Opening Day at the White House
MILES OBRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is opening day today at the White House. President Bush will be the umpire, as T-ball returns to the South Lawn. White House correspondent Kelly Basis has all -- Kelly Wallace has...</s>KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As White House crews put the finishing touches on the field, and the T-ball pluggers geared up for their South Lawn debut, we caught up with Cal Ripken, Junior in his office near Baltimore. The ex-Major Leaguer still spends his days promoting baseball. What is like or what was it like when President Bush called you and said, "I want you to be honorary commissioner of White House T- ball?</s>CAL RIPKEN, RET. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER: It's one of the coolest things when the President calls you, no matter what. But in this particular case, it involved kids and baseball and have taken a great deal of satisfaction and joy after all these years of playing that I have a chance to impact positively on kids. And what better way to impact positively on kids than having them come down to play baseball at the White House? So I gladly accepted and said, "When do I come?"</s>WALLACE: I thought I read that you asked, "But am I qualified?"</s>RIPKEN: Well, I think we were joking around a little bit, asking what the time commitment was going to be. And I think I said, you know, am I qualified for it in a playful sort of way. But yes, can you have fun? Can you run around and interact with kids? I'm qualified.</s>WALLACE: You broke a record that was believed to be unbeatable, the most consecutive games ever in Major League Baseball history. So what record are you trying to break in T-ball?</s>RIPKEN: Well, I don't know if there is a consecutive game streak record or not, but if there is, it's in jeopardy. Once I get involved with kids and teach baseball, I'm in for the long haul. So how many games are going to be down there, I'll be there.</s>WALLACE: Now the White House views this, because this game Sunday, these kids were supposed to play, as you know, on September 16, five days after the attacks. So the White House used this as really a true return to normalcy almost eight months since September 11. Do you see it that way?</s>RIPKEN: I think baseball has the ability to let us escape and think about things in a normal way, even when the circumstances aren't so normal.</s>WALLACE: After his farewell tour last fall, the man who played in 2,632 consecutive games, more than any other player in history, launched a new career. You've got the Cal Ripken Youth Baseball Academy. You're building stadiums. What's your main goal now? What do you want to do? Help kids? Build the spirit of the game?</s>RIPKEN: Well, I think a combination of everything. I've used the expression "to celebrate baseball at all levels." I'm involved in a Minor League team, but I'm also heavily involved in my youth initiatives and designing stadiums for the enjoyment of baseball. Very few people get a chance to feel what it feels like at the Big League level, but a lot of people get to know what it feels like at 12 and under.</s>WALLACE: What do you say to any boys and girls who are watching this interview or playing T-ball or Little League, what advice do you have for them?</s>RIPKEN: I would say never forget that it's supposed to fun. Be a little bit freer in your style and enjoy the game first and foremost.</s>WALLACE: What about Mr. Bush? And what has he done? By bringing T-ball to the South Lawn, by showing his love of the game, what is that doing for baseball?</s>RIPKEN: Well, the president has a love of the game of baseball, probably as great as mine. And he is in a position to sing out loudly about that game. And I think it's really cool that you do organize a program and celebrate the game at a grassroots level, because that's where it all starts.</s>WALLACE: And Ripken says his new job, commissioners of South Lawn T-ball, will help him remember what it was like to be their age, dreaming of one day making it to the major leagues. Kelly Wallace, CNN, the White House.