One of baseball’s most infamous urban legends is that it got new legs thanks to a Hollywood A-lister.
“Semi-Pro” Star Will Ferrell spoke on the podcast ‘My Momma Told Me’ The infamous theory that the Orioles caused an electrical problem at Camden Yards to preserve Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak in 1997 “makes a little sense.”
The theory is that Ripken caught actor Kevin Costner in bed while Ripken’s wife, Orioles legend, punched the Bull Durham star and injured his hand in the game. It revolved around that, which would have kept him out of the game that night.
Mr. Costner and Mr. Ripken have repeatedly denied that such an incident occurred, but the conspiracy theory persists in Baltimore folklore and on the Internet.
“There was a moment at the end of his streak where the game was called because the power went out at the ballpark in Baltimore,” Ferrell said. “And they had to call the game. There was a power outage.”
It is said that the team somehow caused a power problem at the ballpark, which delayed the game scheduled to be held on the night of August 14, 1997, and ultimately led to the cancellation of the contest.
“Then Cal Ripken comes home and finds his wife cheating on him with Kevin Costner,” Ferrell said. “They had a fight and he hurt his hand and was like, ‘I can’t play tonight.’ They’re like, ‘Okay, how’s the streak?’ I know, the power is out. Please turn off the light. ” Then I took a few days off, my hand healed, and the streak continued. ”
A series of lights in the outfield could never be turned on, and the power problem only affected Camden Yards, not other parts of the city.
Ripken’s record remained intact, and one of baseball’s strangest urban legends was born.
Costner and Ripken became close in 1990 after meeting at the premiere of Dances with Wolves, starring Costner.
There has never been any evidence to support claims that Ripken and Costner ever got into a scuffle or that the actor engaged in inappropriate behavior with the baseball legend’s wife.
Costner denied the rumors during an appearance on a Los Angeles sports radio show in 2001. LA Times.
“If there’s any suspicion, we’d love to see someone come forward,” Costner said. “No one will do it, because they don’t have the story to do it. A story like this would cost a ton of money, but it’s simply not true.
“If there’s any suspicion, I’d love to see someone come forward. Look, I’m Crash Davis. If you want to stay out of the rain, If it rains, we can accommodate you..If you saw it [“Bull Durham”] Just go break out the sprinklers. . . . Kelly and Cal, I don’t know if you had to go to the emergency room for anything the night in question. I don’t know, but what is pieced together is a story of sorts. ”
Ripken also addressed that rumor during his speech. 2008 NPR interview In it, he said, “I was definitely there.”
“I think I was on camera a lot of times when I was out on the field,” he added.
