Baseball is in my heart. I know after the storm, the last thing parents were thinking about was buying an $80 glove, and when I heard the city talking about maybe not having a season, I called my wife, and we decided to help out.

I was playing baseball but thinking about football. My heart wasn't in it.

Since Ripken stopped playing baseball, parents are always asking for his opinion on issues. We want the column to be more interactive than anything. We are trying to re-brand him from a baseball player to a youth sports expert.

For the parents of a Little Leaguer, a baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown into innings.

There are several insights at the heart of the A's system that I think are wonderful for baseball. One, that it's a team game. That no one player is going to make that much of a difference to your team, so for god's sake don't go blow a quarter of your budget on one guy.

I can't say enough good things about him. He has a great heart and he loves the game of baseball.