Thank you, Chicagoland!
Pitcher Ryan Dempster said goodbye to Cubs fans and Chicago on Friday, thanking them for their support. In a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, Dempster, who joined the Cubs in 2004 and on Tuesday was traded to the Rangers, said in part:
"Your support over the years means the world to us. We will always have fond memories of our years in Chicago.
"Although I will be playing baseball in another city . . . we look forward to being a part of this community for years to come. Chicago has always been my kind of town."
No answers in kidnapping
Hall of Fame infielder Cal Ripken Jr. on Friday said his family and police in Baltimore were still searching for answers about the kidnapping of his mother last week, a crime he called unsettling.
Ripken, speaking publicly for the first time about the abduction, said he doesn't know why his 74-year-old mother, Vi, was kidnapped at gunpoint from her home outside Baltimore, blindfolded, and driven around for nearly 24 hours. She was found unharmed in her car early the next morning, near her home.
He said there's reason to believe the kidnapping was planned in advance, but he said he can't be sure and doesn't know why she was targeted.
"It's bizarre in many ways," Ripken said.
Investigators say there was no ransom demand, and Vi Ripken has said her abductor appeared not to know that she was Ripken's mother.
Police have said little about the investigation but have released a sketch of a suspect and video surveillance footage pulled from a store.
This article contains information from Inquirer wire services.
