RIPKEN STEADILY BUILDING A NICHE OFF PLAYING FIELD : POLL SHOWS HE'S A FAN FAVORITE; ENDORSEMENT DEALS LIKELY TO GROW.

Byline: Shawn Donnan Associated Press 

More than a year after he set a new standard for reliability, Cal Ripken is building his income in the sports endorsement marketplace like he built his consecutive-games streak - slowly, steadily and safely.

The Baltimore Orioles shortstop who's played more than 2,300 consecutive games is becoming a power player in a business that in recent years has been dominated by NBA stars with attitude and NFL players with Super Bowl rings.

``He's up there with Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith, Wayne Gretzky and very few others,'' said John Thorbeck, senior vice president for sales and marketing for Starter, which put Ripken in a new ad for its sports apparel.

Ripken, who like many baseball stars for years has had a high profile regionally but little or none nationally, topped the baseball charts on Forbes' list of the 40 highest-paid professional athletes last year with an income of $11.2 million, including $4 million in endorsements. This year, his handlers say, he'll do even better.

He can be seen in some markets in subdued ads for Chevrolet and other products, and his business managers say later this year he'll begin campaigns for True Value hardware stores.

Ripken's commercial for Starter plays off his streak. Scientists in a laboratory beneath Camden Yards are researching how long a new jacket will hold up.

``How many games did you have in mind?'' Ripken asks as he puts on the jacket.

Ripken refused requests for an interview to discuss his off-the-field business, but sources close to the shortstop say his income could reach $15 million.

When Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games last September, he did what few baseball players have ever done: gain a national fan base and name recognition outside of the sometimes-insular world of baseball. If the Orioles reach the postseason as expected, Ripken could become even more widely known.

``We're finding that Cal's appeal and stature now goes beyond baseball and he really is a sports icon,'' said Thorbeck, who described Starter's pact with Ripken as a six-figure deal.

According to the ESPN Chilton Sports Poll, which tracks the attitudes of fans 12 and older on a wide range of sports issues, Ripken is the country's fifth favorite athlete - Jordan is No. 1 - and the only baseball player in the top 10.

Among people asked to choose an athlete to endorse a product, Ripken ranked ahead of Magic Johnson, Deion Sanders, Ken Griffey Jr., and Dennis Rodman. In 1994, before he broke Gehrig's record, Ripken was 19th on that list.

Yet, ``he's a walking understatement in terms of usage'' by endorsers, said Jenna Tourdot, who works with the ESPN Chilton poll's clients to find endorsers who might suit them.

Unlike Jordan, Ripken has no big shoe commercial campaigns planned, no major fast-food deals in the offing. And in the world of sports marketing - where everyone is expected to be like Mike - that has caused some sports marketers to think Ripken is keeping too low a profile.

``I don't know anybody, for example, who is wearing a Cal Ripken shoe. I don't know anybody who is going crazy about a Cal Ripken clothing line,'' said Mel Helitzer, a former sports promoter who teaches marketing at Ohio University.

``Despite the fact that he is one of the most wholesome people in baseball, I think he's been packaged terribly.''

Ira Rainess, chief operating officer of the Tufton Group, the company formed in 1992 to handle Ripken's off-the-field business, said the low-key approach is partly due to Ripken's personality.

He doesn't want to be distracted from baseball during the season and spends most of his free time with his family. To meet with Ripken and discuss potential deals for either endorsement campaigns or memorabilia, Rainess follows the Orioles on road trips and meets Ripken after games.

During the offseason, Ripken will give up only so many days to shoot commercials and do other endorsement-related work.

``Our objective isn't to get Cal any more exposure,'' he said. ``Last year he was exposed as much as any athlete can be. ... I'm not going to take something at this point just to get Cal on the TV set.''

In fact, Rainess has turned down offers from even major players in the sports world.

Earlier this year, Nike pitched the idea of putting him in a commercial poking fun at the excuses other players come up with for missing games. The idea was quickly nixed; Ripken will poke fun at himself but not at other athletes.

Ripken has had a shoe contract with Nike since 1993, and the company pays homage to him in a downtown Baltimore mural. But Nike spokeswoman Robin Carr-Locke said the sports apparel giant did not have any immediate plans to feature Ripken in a national campaign, as it has Griffey.

Sports marketing experts often call Ripken, 36, the future Arnold Palmer of the endorsement business, someone whose value as a pitchman will far outlast his playing days.

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Photo

Photo: Capitalizing on his consecutive games streak, Baltim ore's Cal Ripken Jr. will be in a Starter ad.

Daily News File Photo