Cal Ripken Jr. To Sign Book, Throw Out First Pitch At Ed Smith

Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. will be coming to Sarasota March 7 to pitch his Wild Pitch book while making sure his first pitch sails over the plate with ease.

The Orioles on Wednesday announced that the ironman, Ripken, 52, will visit Ed Smith Stadium on March 7 for the Orioles game against the Toronto Blue Jays, where he will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and sign copies of his new children's book, Wild Pitch, on the lower concourse from 2 to 4 p.m. 

The visit is part of a national book tour for Wild Pitch, the third installment in the New York Times best-selling "Cal Ripken, Jr.'s All-Stars" series.

Ripken's consecutive games played streak of 2,632 is the best of all time, and the longest active streak in the Major League is Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder with 285 games. He also helped the Orioles to a World Series win in 1983.

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Tickets for the Orioles-Blue Jays game are still available and can be purchased at the ballpark, viawww.orioles.com/spring or by phone at 877-222-2802.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the game and will cost $16.99.