The Aberdeen IronBirds start their 11th season at Ripken Stadium tonight.

The story of the IronBirds' birth is a long one. In short: a hometown hero brought the team here.

Cal Ripken, of course, played in 2,632 straight games amid a Hall of Fame career with the Orioles. He retired in 2001, and in 2002, purchased a minor league team, moved them to Aberdeen and the IronBirds were born.

Ripken was born in Havre de Grace and grew up in Aberdeen.

About a month ago, with opening night in my sights, I set out a challenge to our Facebook fans:

Fun challenge, Facebook pals: Let's get to 2,632 "likes" (the number of consecutive games Cal Ripken played before taking a day off) before the Aberdeen IronBirds home opener on June 20. Tell a friend. Only 90 to go as I'm typing this. -Sean

That was posted May 15.

Last week, we surpassed 2,632 Facebook "fans" on the Havre de Grace Patch Facebook page.

I wanted to take the time and thank everyone who is following us on Facebook. It's a great way to get the breaking and pertinent news from Patch at your fingertips even faster. In many ways, our Facebook fans are our super readers.

If you haven't yet, check out our Facebook page. We share more than articles. And it's a great place to leave us a tip or share information about your organization, too.

While you're logged in, check out the Facebook pages for Aberdeen Patch and Bel Air Patch, too, so you can be sure you are in the know in Harford County.

As of 10 a.m., we were closing in on 2,700 fans—maybe we can next take aim at 3,184: the total of Ripken's career hits.

Thanks, Facebook fans.

Now, go enjoy opening night at Ripken Stadium!

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Follow Patch coverage of the IronBirds here.