Cal Ripken Jr

Cal Ripken redirects here to Cal Ripken, Jr. For the father of Cal Ripken, Jr., see Cal Ripken, Sr.

File:Cal ripken jr 1993.jpg

Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1993

Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. (born August 24, 1960 in Havre de Grace, Maryland) is a former shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981 to 2001. He was raised in Aberdeen, Maryland, a town near his birthplace, in a home steeped in baseball. 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 and has a daughter Rachel born in 1989 and a son Ryan born in 1993.

Ripken was known as the iron man of baseball, playing 2,632 straight games, spanning fifteen seasons without missing a single game (May 30, 1982 - September 20, 1998). He played his 2131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995, breaking the 56-year-old record set by New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig. During The 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. 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.

In addition to Ripken's legendary durability, he, along with gamers such as Robin Yount, is credited with redefining the shortstop position. Many of the game's current top shortstops, including Alex Rodriguez, 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 6'4", 225 lbs (1.93 m, 102 kg), Ripken was an enormous departure from the protypical 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.

Cal Ripken retired on October 6, 2001 and built a new stadium in Aberdeen, where he had played baseball as a boy. He is a part owner of the Aberdeen IronBirds, a 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 generous donations to charity causes, including many donations supporting research on Lou Gehrig's disease. He is also gives speeches about his time in baseball and some of the lessons he has learned.

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.

Ripken's first appearance on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be in January 2007; if, as expected, he is elected, he will be inducted in the summer of 2007.

Awards and records

• 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"
• 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 club records:

• 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
• Homeruns, 431 (Baltimore has had 5 500-homerun hitters, 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     R   H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  TB   BB  SO  SB CS  OPB   SLG   AVG  
+--------------+---+-----+----+----+---+--+---+----+----+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+
 1981 20 BAL AL  23   39     1   5    0	 0   0   0     5   1   8   0  0  .150  .128  .128
 1982 21 BAL AL 160  598    90  158  32	 5  28  93   284  46  95   3  3  .317  .475  .264
 1983 22 BAL AL 162  663   121  211  47  2  27 102   343  58  97   0  4  .371  .517  .318
 1984 23 BAL AL 162  641   103  195  37  7  27  86   327  71  89   2  1  .374  .510  .304
 1985 24 BAL AL 161  642   116  181  32	 5  26 110   301  67  68   2  3  .347  .469  .282
 1986 25 BAL AL 162  627    98  177  35  1  25  81   289  70  60   4  2  .355  .461  .282
 1987 26 BAL AL 162  624    97  157  28  3  27  98   272  81  77   3  5  .333  .436  .252
 1988 27 BAL AL 161  575    87  152  25	 1  23  81   248 102  69   2  2  .372  .431  .264
 1989 28 BAL AL 162  646    80  166  30  0  21  93   259  57  72   3  2  .317  .401  .257
 1990 29 BAL AL 161  600    78  150  28  4  21  84   249  82  66   3  1  .341  .415  .250
 1991 30 BAL AL 162  650    99  210  46  5  34 114   368  53  46   6  1  .374  .566  .323
 1992 31 BAL AL 162  637    73  160  29  1  14  72   233  64  50   4  3  .323  .366  .251
 1993 32 BAL AL 162  641    87  165  26  3  24  90   269  65  58   1  4  .329  .420  .257
 1994 33 BAL AL 112  444    71  140  19	 3  13  75   204  32  41   1  0  .364  .459  .315
 1995 34 BAL AL 144  550    71  144  33  2  17  88   232  52  59   0  1  .324  .422  .262
 1996 35 BAL AL 163  640    94  178  40  1  26 102   298  59  78   1  2  .341  .466  .278
 1997 36 BAL AL 162  615    79  166  30  0  17  84   247  56  73   1  0  .331  .402  .270
 1998 37 BAL AL 161  601    65  163  27  1  14  61   234  51  68   0  2  .331  .389  .271
 1999 38 BAL AL 86   332    51  113  27  0  18  57   194  13  31   0  1  .368  .584  .340
 2000 39 BAL AL 83   309    43   79  16  0  15  56   140  23  37   0  0  .310  .453  .256
 2001 40 BAL AL 128  477    43  114  16  0  14  68   172  26  63   0  2  .276  .361  .239
+--------------+---+-----+----+----+---+--+---+----+----+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+
 21 Seasons    3001	  1647      603    431      5168     1305    39       .447  
                    11551      3184  	44     1695  	 1129     36     .340       .276
               

External links

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