[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. I want to point out that Cal Ripken, Jr., and I share the exact same playlist. That's Stevie Wonder. Don't say that. I'm 23. He's been called baseball's ironman because for 16 seasons he never missed a game. Now hall of famer Cal Ripken, Jr., is using that to give back. He's just back from Joplin, Missouri. The town, of course, that was devastated by a tornado a year ago. He worked with volunteers and "Habitat for Humanity" to rebuild destroyed homes. It's nice to have you with us. Why Joplin? I mean, in a way it feels like there are so many places devastated where you could spend your time. Why was Joplin so important to you?
[Cal Ripken Jr., Played For Baltimore Orioles For 21 Seasons:] I've been with Energizer for the last six years. Energizer partnered in their initiative this year with "Habitat for Humanity" in a 13-city tour. The first one was in our backyard at Joplin. When you see the destruction from the tornado, you can't get a feel for it when watching it on TV. It looks horrible. When you're standing there, you seen the scale of it all.
[O'brien:] Yes, 13 miles of destruction. It took out the city.
[Ripken:] They have cleaned it up now. So we were there building two homes as part of this project. I found out that I had skill with hammer and nail. The spirit there is really great to be a part of that.
[O'brien:] Do you miss baseball?
[Ripken:] There are certain aspects of the game you miss. I had a chance to play it almost consecutively to a point where I know what it feels like to be good and bad and fail and succeed and all that kind of stuff. You do miss being on the inside and being part of something and you're in the know. Now you watch it like everybody else and you feel like I'm not on the inside anymore. It is true. You miss being part of a team.
[O'brien:] Let me ask you a question. I'm not a giant baseball watcher, but I love professional sports because I love the lessons that people learn from professional sports. So if you could say one thing that you walked away from at the end of 16-year career where you had incredible highs, what was the life lesson you got out of it?
[Ripken:] I think you learn about your individual responsibility because even part of a team, everybody relies on everybody else to do their job in concert with everyone else. So the individual responsibility and the responsibility you have to the team is first and foremost and you have to mesh it together. We're all different trying to have a common goal. We call it chemistry in sports. Maybe it's culture in other workplaces. But certainly, it's understanding your role on the team and then bringing it all together.
[Cain:] How old were you when you retired?
[Ripken:] I was 41.
[Cain:] You started playing baseball when you were how old?
[Ripken:] I started when I was eight so I had a career from 8 to 41.
[Cain:] So when you are done with baseball at 41. You have been a baseball player at your entire life at that point. That's what you've done every day. How hard is it to wake up on that next day and define yourself? This is what I am now. I'm no longer a baseball player.
[Ripken:] I think a lot of us have problems with that. I mean, I saw a lot of players retire in the early part of my career and they were lost a bit. I started preparing for it, doing things in the off- season. Doing things in the business sense almost to make a transition so I wouldn't be sort of left out. I'm not to say that I figured it all out. But certainly from the day I left baseball, we own three minor league teams, I have two kids' complexes and put a suit on and went to work as a sense of purpose. So you didn't sit around and try to figure out what you want to do. I stayed active. I still stay active.
[Lizza:] Is that a problem for a lot of colleagues that get out and don't know what to do with themselves and don't how to make money and have a different career?
[Ripken:] If you're good at anything, you immerse yourself into it. That's all you do. That's what baseball players do and you're out and now you have to figure out now what? I think there are some people who struggle with that. Once you find something, immerse yourself into something again.
[Fugelsang:] I think celebrity is one of the goofiest things that people have created, but to use yours and help these people. Were you aware of "Habitat for Humanity's" work before hand? Did you have any opinion on them?
[Ripken:] I had some exposure to it, but Energizer certainly brought me in. We've done some great things in community. We started the Energizer keep going hall of fame to bring highlights to everyday people that do great things. This effort is to really go in and have a significant impact in 13 cities.
[O'brien:] Was it weird for them to be like hammering next to Cal Ripken, Jr.?
[Ripken:] I guess, kind of.
[O'brien:] They want to talk baseball.
[Ripken:] To a point you shine a light you get attention for being a baseball player. Now you shine a light on good things. I really enjoyed that aspect.
[Fugelsang:] You can lift heavier boards than Jimmy Carter can.
[Ripken:] I'll tell you what. These houses are the most nailed houses around. Everyone has a hammer and everyone has nails. They will never fall down.
[Fugelsang:] How can people help? If they want to emulate what you're doing, if they want to help these folks, how can they get involved?
[Ripken:] Look, habitat.org is a way you can go. It's on the web site with Energizer. It's on Habitat's web site. I mean, the cool thing is we all can act individually and make an impact, but if we act collectively we can make a bigger impact, which is what this is.
[O'brien:] Would you go back to baseball tomorrow saying we would love to have you back. We'll start you?
[Ripken:] As a player? No. I couldn't go back as a player.
[Fugelsang:] What about as DH?
[Cain:] No. That was an interesting pause. How about as a manager? How about inside a front office?
[Ripken:] I think there's some interest I have to come back to use baseball expertise. I wanted to be there for my kids to get them through college. My last kid is a senior in high school. I could look at the camera saying I'm available so somebody offer me a job.
[Cain:] I doubt this is your application. Have you talked to anybody? Talked to the Orioles?
[Ripken:] I've been flattered to be asked whether I want to manage a couple different teams. I thought if you're not interested don't go through the interview process. Just be honest with them.
[O'brien:] So you are telling us fall 2012 you'll be managing a team. Goes off to school in the fall, he's a senior. I've done the math. It's nice to have you. It's great to see you. Thanks for being with us. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, some breaking news that we're following about this British phone hacking scandal. Lawmakers in parliament declaring Rupert Murdoch unfit to run a major international company, which, of course, is exactly what he does. The latest developments from London coming to you live. And al Qaeda's attack plans hidden in pornography. Investigators say it's a gold mine of information and a threat about bombs on U.S. bound planes. We'll update you on that. Plus Rescue 411. A 4'11" firefighter was exactly the right size to save a toddler who fell 20 feet down a drain pipe. She was the only one who could fit. We'll talk to her about the rescue. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in just a moment.