Cal Ripken, Jr.

For his father of the same name, see Cal Ripken, Sr.

Calvin 'Cal' Edwin Ripken, Jr. (born August 24, 1960 in Havre de Grace, Maryland) is a former Major League Baseball player. Cal played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981 to 2001 at shortstop and third base. A 19-time MLB All-Star, Cal is widely considered one of the best shortstops to ever play the game. At 6' 4", Cal pioneered the way for the larger and taller shortstops. Cal was raised in Aberdeen, Maryland and attended Aberdeen High School (as did his brother Billy Ripken), a town near Havre de Grace, in a baseball family. His father, Cal Sr., was a long-time coach in baseball who managed the Orioles in the late 1980s. His brother, Billy Ripken, played second base for various teams, including the Orioles. He has two other siblings, Ellie and Fred. He is married to Kelly Geer and has a daughter, Rachel, born in 1989 and a son, Ryan, born in 1993.

Ripken was known as baseball's "Iron Man" ^* , playing in a record 2,632 straight games, spanning sixteen seasons, from (May 30, 1982 - September 20, 1998). He played his 2131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995, against the California Angels, breaking the 56-year-old record set by the "Iron Horse" New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig.

"The Streak"

Along the lines of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, Cal Ripken's consecutive game streak is regarded as one of baseball's 'unbreakable' records. His record, which took 16 years to establish, made him a popular player with the American League fans, who voted him into the AL All-Star team 20 consecutive years.

Despite having statistics that put him among the best in the American League, Ripken played for an average team. The Baltimore Orioles only made the playoffs 3 times in his 20 year career. When Ripken was viewed to be not performing well in the late 80's, fans booed and critics criticized his passion for the game often calling him "selfish". However, he continued to play every game until he took himself out on September 20, 1998.

During "The Streak", Cal played nearly the entire game each game, averaging 99.8% of time on the field . But Ripken had several close calls that almost ended the streak. In a 1985 game (#444 of the Streak), Ripken sprained his ankle while running out a double. The next day, Ripken's ankle swelled so bad that he couldn't play. However, that day was an exhibition game for the Orioles and Ripken sat out. In a game against the Seattle Mariners in June of 1993, there was a brawl on the mound at Oriole Park. Ripken twisted his right knee while trying to break up the brawl. "It was the closest I have ever come to not playing," Ripken later told the press. He woke up the next day and could not get out of bed. He told his wife Kelly about not being able to play and Kelly asked, "Can't you just play one inning?" Cal immediately responded, "YOU TOO?" The Orioles had a game that night and Ripken played. He taped up his knee and took infield practice before the game, and then played every inning for the next two weeks. During that same year, Ripken's second child was about to be born sometime during the season. The media asked if Ripken would sit out if his child would be born on a game day and he said he would. However, Ripken's second child, Ryan, was born on an Orioles off day.

Another streak that is often mentioned is his consecutive innings streak. Ripken played in 8,243 straight innings from June 5, 1982, to September 14, 1987, also considered to be a record, although not an "official" one as the major leagues have not traditionally kept statistics on innings played by non-pitchers.

Cal Ripken is also noted for having played third base for the Rochester Red Wings in the longest game in professional baseball history: a 33 inning, 8 hour, 25 minute, 3-2 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox that began on April 18th, 1981, and didn't end until June 23rd when play resumed. Contemporary Wade Boggs also played in this game, for the Red Sox.

Career highlights

1982: AL Rookie of the Year

Cal Ripken Jr. was called up to the major leagues as a promising 3rd baseman. As the coaches son, he faced extra pressure to proove he had been chosen on merit. He homered in his first at-bat on Opening Day and then fell into a deep slump going 4 for 55. Apparently worried that he may be sent down to the minor leagues, a May 1st talk with Reggie Jackson at third base during a game seemed to help Ripken improve for the rest of the season. Reggie said, "Look, don't let everyone else tell you how to hit. You could hit before you got here. Just be yourself and hit the way you want to hit. They traded Doug DeCinces to make room for you, didn't they? They think you can play. They know you can." After the talk, Cal raised his average from .141 to as high as .284 before settling with a .264 average. Cal ended up leading all AL rookies in every offensive category including home runs (23) and RBI's (93). The end result was Ripken edging out Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox and Kent Hrbek of the Minnesota Twins for the American League Rookie of the Year.

1983: AL MVP

Following his Rookie of the Year season, Ripken hit .318 and led the AL with 211 hits, 47 doubles, 76 extra-base hits, 121 runs, 162 games played and 663 at bats. He was among the most feared hitters in the league. He helped lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 98-64 record and a World Series title. At the end of the season, Cal beat out teammate Eddie Murray in the AL MVP voting with the final tally being 322-290.

Cal became the first player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year honors and be named the MVP the following year.

1989: 'Why Not' Birds

In 1988, the Orioles started the season by losing a ML record 21 straight games, finishing 54-108. In 1989, the Orioles changed their look by removing the cartoon Oriole logo on their hat to a more realistic looking bird. The Orioles started the season by beating Roger Clemens and the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day. Cal hit a 3 run home run off of Clemens to win the game. The Orioles were a surprise team all season and fans came up with the tagline: The "Why Not" Orioles^*. The team stayed in first place all year long but were passed by the Toronto Blue Jays during the last weekend of the season. In 1988, the Orioles had won 54 games and finished 34 1/2 games out of first place. In 1989, they won 87 games and finished 2 games out of first place.

1990

In 1990, Ripken had his worst season of his career up to that point. He was often booed loudly at home and his power numbers and batting average were down. He was hitting .209 in June. He often took extra batting practice before the game to get out of his slump, but Frank Robinson suggested he adjust his stance by widening and bending a little at the knees. The result was Ripken hitting .278 the rest of the 1990 season to raise his final season average to .250.

While his hitting suffered, Ripken was still a good defender, compiling a then-record 95 straight games without an error. He committed just 3 errors all season, finishing with a MLB record .996 fielding percentage. Surprisingly, he did not win the Gold Glove. The Gold Glove that season went to the more extrovert Ozzie Guillen who had committed 17 errors.

1991: MVP Season

Ripken had been seen to use a more crouched stance during the season and the results were much better than previous years. Ripken led the American League with 111 hits and a .348 batting average at the All-Star Break. He finished the season by hitting .323 with 34 HR's and 114 RBI's. He also led the league with 85 extra-base hits and 368 total bases.

Ripken won his second AL MVP award, the Gold Glove Award, 1991 All Star game MVP award (going 2 for 3 which included hitting a 3-run home run off of Dennis Martinez), the Gatorade Home Run Derby contest (hitting a then record 12 home runs in 22 swings, including hitting 7 consecutive to start the contest), Louisville Slugger "Silver Slugger Award", AP Player of the Year Award, and The Sporting News Player of the Year Award. The only other player in MLB history to win all those awards in the same season, besides the Home Run derby, was Maury Wills in 1962.

Ripken also became the first player ever to win the Home Run Derby and be named All Star Game MVP honors the same year. The only other player that has accomplished this feat is Garret Anderson of the Anaheim Angels in 2003.

Most notably, Ripken was the first AL MVP in MLB history to win the award from a sub .500 club. However, the team did not fare as well, finishing in 6th place with 67-95 record.

1995:Ambassador of Baseball

After the 1994 baseball strike, Ripken helped present baseball in a positive light, and was among many players who were more obliging to autograph seekers in the 1995 season.

On September 6, 1995, many fans nationwide tuned in to ESPN to see the game where Ripken broke the consecutive games played record. It still ranks as one of the network's highest watched non-football games ever. When the game became official in the bottom of the fifth inning, the numbers that had been keeping track of Ripken's streak on the wall of the B&O Warehouse outside the stadium's right field wall turned from 2130 to 2131. The standing ovation Cal received lasted 22 minutes and 16 seconds. Ripken went 2 for 4, hitting a home run and a double in the game. Mike Mussina recorded the win.

1999

In 1999, Cal had his finest season since 1991. Although he was injured at the beginning and the end of the 1999 season, he managed to hit 18 HR's in only 332 AB's (one HR every 18.4 AB's) while hitting a career high .340. He also had his best individual game of his career by going 6 for 6 with 2 HR's and tying a club record with 13 total bases vs. the Atlanta Braves on 6/13/1999. During the nationally televised game, Ripken's bat speed, which was the fastest among all the players that game, was clocked at 95 mph.

2001:Retirement

In June 2001, Ripken announced his retirement. He was voted the starting third baseman in the All-Star game at Safeco Field on 7/10/2001 in Seattle. It was noticeable that Ripken and shortstop Alex Rodriguez exchanged places briefly during the game, so that Ripken could play shortshop, just as he had at the start of his career. With Ripken hitting eighth, he homered off the first pitch he saw from Chan Ho Park. It has been suggested that Park threw Ripken an easy pitch to hit, given Ripken's popularity and the knowledge that it was his final All-Star game. Ripken ended up with All Star MVP honors. He is the only AL player in MLB history with multiple All Star Game MVP Awards (1991 and 2001).

Legacy

In addition to Ripken's legendary durability, he, along with contemporaries such as Robin Yount and Alan Trammell, is credited with redefining the shortstop position. Many of the game's current top shortstops, such as Derek Jeter, name Ripken as their inspiration while growing up. Though he was brought up through the minor leagues as a third baseman, then-manager Earl Weaver gave him an audition at shortstop when he was first brought up to the Major League ballclub. Weaver's actions raised quite a few eyebrows; at 6 ft 4 in, 225 lb (1.93 m, 102 kg), Ripken was an enormous departure from the prototypical shortstop of the time - small, fleet-of-foot players who play great defense, but are offensive liabilities.

Nonetheless, Ripken demonstrated the ability to play more than adequate defense at shortstop, and as a result remained a fixture there for well over a decade, leading the league in assists several times, winning the Gold Glove twice, and, in 1990, setting the MLB record for best fielding percentage in a season at his position. Ripken studied batters and even his own pitching staff so he could position himself to compensate for the lack of range that he had. This is reflected to some degree by his statistical range factor per game, which at 4.62 for his career was higher than that of the vast majority of shortstops, including quicker 10-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel. He was even known to call pitches. Ripken's powerful hitting led to such distinctions as the most home runs by a shortstop, and a place at 13th for career doubles hitters, but also had some unfortunate consequences. Ripken's propensity to drive the ball often led to his grounders getting to fielders quickly for tailor-made double-play balls. In 1999, Ripken passed Hank Aaron as the player with most career grounded-into-double-plays.

Ripken is widely considered to be one of the most revered sports heroes in Baltimore history, rivaled only by Johnny Unitas.

Post-Playing Life

Cal Ripken retired on October 6, 2001 and paid for a new stadium in Aberdeen, MD. He is a part owner of the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Single A- Rookie affiliate minor league baseball team associated with the Orioles. On June 28, 2005, he announced that he was also purchasing the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League, an A-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Ripken has also made donations to charity causes, including many donations supporting research on Lou Gehrig's disease. He and his brother Billy also formed the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to give underprivileged children the opportunity to attend baseball camps around the country and learn the game. The Foundation is a branch of Ripken Baseball. In addition to controlling these camps and Ripken's minor league teams, Ripken Baseball controls for-profit camps and designs ballfields for youth, college, and professional teams. He also gives speeches about his time in baseball and some of the lessons he has learned. Ripken publishes a weekly advice column in the Baltimore Sun.

Ripken unexpectedly made news in November of 2003 when he reported a naked man at his door. The visitor was a bleeding kidnapping victim dropped off near his home.

In 2005, the Orioles honored Ripken on the 10th anniversary of his 2,131st consecutive game. After the top of the 5th inning, the numbers 2130 on the warehouse behind the stadium changed to 2131, just as they did on September 6, 1995.

Ripken's first appearance on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be in January 2007.

Awards and records

Baseball

1982: American League Rookie of the Year
1983: American League MVP
1991: American League MVP
1991: All-Star Game MVP
1991: Gold Glove Award for shortstop
1992: Gold Glove award for shortstop
1995: Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year"
1999: Ranked Number 78 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players
1999: Elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
2001: All-Star Game MVP
Most consecutive games played at 2,632
Most grounded into double plays at 350
Most double plays by a shortstop, American League, at 1682

Baltimore Orioles

Games Played, 3,001
Consecutive games, 2,632
At bats, 11,551
Hits, 3,184
Runs, 1,647
RBI, 1,695
Extra Base Hits, 1078
Doubles, 603
Home runs, 431 (Baltimore has had 5 members of the 500 home run club on its roster, but none have hit more with the Orioles than Ripken)
Total Bases, 5168
Walks, 1,129
Strikeouts, 1,305
Assists, 8,212
Double Plays, 1,682

Career statistics

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G    AB +
--+---+
 1981 20 BAL AL  23   39 1982 21 BAL AL 160  598 1983 22 BAL AL 162  663 1984 23 BAL AL 162  641 1985 24 BAL AL 161  642 1986 25 BAL AL 162  627 1987 26 BAL AL 162  624 1988 27 BAL AL 161  575 1989 28 BAL AL 162  646 1990 29 BAL AL 161  600 1991 30 BAL AL 162  650 1992 31 BAL AL 162  637 1993 32 BAL AL 162  641 1994 33 BAL AL 112  444 1995 34 BAL AL 144  550 1996 35 BAL AL 163  640 1997 36 BAL AL 162  615 1998 37 BAL AL 161  601 1999 38 BAL AL 86   332 2000 39 BAL AL 83   309 2001 40 BAL AL 128  477 +
--+---+ 21 Seasons    3001	  1647

R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OPB SLG AVG -+

+---+--+---+

+---+---+---+--+

-+ 1 5 0 0 0 0 5 1 8 0 0 .150 .128 .128 90 158 32 5 28 93 284 46 95 3 3 .317 .475 .264 121 211 47 2 27 102 343 58 97 0 4 .371 .517 .318 103 195 37 7 27 86 327 71 89 2 1 .374 .510 .304 116 181 32 5 26 110 301 67 68 2 3 .347 .469 .282 98 177 35 1 25 81 289 70 60 4 2 .355 .461 .282 97 157 28 3 27 98 272 81 77 3 5 .333 .436 .252 87 152 25 1 23 81 248 102 69 2 2 .372 .431 .264 80 166 30 0 21 93 259 57 72 3 2 .317 .401 .257 78 150 28 4 21 84 249 82 66 3 1 .341 .415 .250 99 210 46 5 34 114 368 53 46 6 1 .374 .566 .323 73 160 29 1 14 72 233 64 50 4 3 .323 .366 .251 87 165 26 3 24 90 269 65 58 1 4 .329 .420 .257 71 140 19 3 13 75 204 32 41 1 0 .364 .459 .315 71 144 33 2 17 88 232 52 59 0 1 .324 .422 .262 94 178 40 1 26 102 298 59 78 1 2 .341 .466 .278 79 166 30 0 17 84 247 56 73 1 0 .331 .402 .270 65 163 27 1 14 61 234 51 68 0 2 .331 .389 .271 51 113 27 0 18 57 194 13 31 0 1 .368 .584 .340 43 79 16 0 15 56 140 23 37 0 0 .310 .453 .256 43 114 16 0 14 68 172 26 63 0 2 .276 .361 .239 -+