He could, as it turned out, go far beyond. As incredible as Ripken's feat was, it turned out to be far more important to the game. The game needed a new hero, a feel-good story to bring back the fans. They swarm hotel lobbies, armed with binders full of baseball cards. More and more are on a mission, one that can mean money and not all of it come by honestly.
Players find themselves in the middle of a dilemma.
To say no means to sully your image. To say yes more often can mean unwittingly supporting a sometimes-shady cottage industry. Autographs are big business, and the rules are far from being established. After storming to a pair of victories in the World Series' first two games in New York, the Braves saw their dreams turned around by a home run from unlikely hero Jim Leyritz. When New York stormed off with a six-game triumph, little did we know what a run the Yankees were beginning and how inexorably Leyritz the utility man would become linked with October heroics.