Baseball’s Ironman-Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken, Jr. 52 today.

Ten Notes about Cal Ripken Jr

1.  Cal played 2632 games consecutively all for the Baltimore Orioles.  The old record was Lou Gehrig’s 2130.

2. When I was a kid it seemed like every year or two there would be an article in a baseball magazine talking about baseball records that would be unbreakable. Two records that I always remember being considered most unbreakable Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak and Lou Gehrig’s 2130 consecutive games played streak. Billy Williams and Steve Garvey both put together streaks in the last 60’s -70’s but never came that close to the Gehrig record.

3. Cal Ripken Jr started his streak May 30th, 1982 at age 21. It ended September 26th, 1998 at age 38.

4. Cal broke the Gehrig Record on September 6, 1995.  It was a huge event but not a dramatic event. When the game became official there was a big ceremony. It was a big event for baseball. Due to the baseball strike the 1994 World Series was cancelled, for the first time in 100 years. The strike ended in the spring of 1995. A lot of fans were not happy. This was an event that everyone could feel good about baseball with.

5. Over the years leading up to the breaking of the record there was a lot of people who were critical of Ripken for his streak. People who thought he should take a day off now and then. He had some years that were not great years. The thought was if he took a day off now and then he would play better. I never thought Ripken was being selfish for playing everyday. I admired him for his work ethic. I always thought how can you be critical of someone who goes to work each day and does his job?  My father worked in a steel mill for 35 years. I can only remember him missing one day, he was sick as a dog that day. Over the years he worked several different jobs at the mill. Some he liked better than others but he didn’t like his job. I don’t think he got any satisfaction from it. I know he didn’t want me to end up doing what he did. But he got up every morning and went to work each day. Cal Ripken did the same. Over those years he had some nagging injuries he played through. There had to be times when he was tired, physically and mentally. But he played every day. No one will break his record because no team now is ever going to let a player come close to it. They will get him out of the line up to end the streak. I don’t think even if this wasn’t that case that anyone would break the Ripken Record anyway.

6. Cal Ripken, Jr was a .276 career hitter. 3184 career hits, 431 career home runs. 1695 career runs batted in. He was a 19 time all-star. 2 time Gold Glove Award winner. 2 time MVP-1983 and 1991. Rookie of the Year in 1982. 2 time MVP of the All-Star Game 1991 and 2001. He  never led the league in any major catagory. He wasn’t an exciting player to watch. He was a guy who came to work and did his job. He was 6 foot 4- and played most of his career at shortstop. He wasn’t a flashy shortstop. He played the hitters well. The ball would be hit to shortstop and he’d be positioned correctly. He was no Ozzie. He was efficient. He made the plays. He was huge for a shortstop. When he started playing shortstop all the other shortstops were fast and small. Ripken opened the way for bigger men playing there, players with power.

7. He didn’t have MONSTER seasons. His 1983 season was his best. He was a guy who always hit in the 20’s in home runs.. around 100 RBI.  Never a huge average. Strangely his teammate for many years Eddie Murray was another consistant player, I think the most consistant player of my lifetime. It’s hard to pick Eddie Murray’s best year-they were all about the same, without that monster year. Just deadly consistant.

8 Cal Ripken Sr was a baseball lifer with the Baltimore Orioles, minor league manager, major league coach and in the late 1980’s was their manager. He managed his son. Cal Sr’s managerial career did not go or end well. Some thought in the end he wasn’t treated very well. Billy Ripken, Cal Jr’s brother also played in the majors. He was a journeyman infielder with a number of teams. He wasn’t 1/100th of the player Cal was. He is known mostly for his ‘obscene baseball card”  They had a brother Fred who quit playing ball in high school. Supposedly he was the most talented in the family. Cal’s son Ryan was drafted this year by the Orioles in the 20th round. He is playing college ball.

9. Cal Jr retired in 2001. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. He received over 98 % of the vote. Only two players have had a higher vote percentage.

10. Cal Jr was one of the most admired players of his generation. The two ballplayers from that generation that I admire the most I think are Cal and Tony Gwynn.