Athletes - Cal Ripken, Jr.

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	Athletes - Cal Ripken, Jr.

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 sixteen 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 the Iron Horse New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig.

Baltimore Orioles

1990

In 1990, Ripken had his worst season of his career. He was often booed loudly at home and his power numbers were down. He often took extra batting practice to get out of his slump. But it was a talk with Frank Robinson that helped him out. Robinson suggested that 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 season average to .250. The only bright side to 1990 was with his glove (Rawlings Pro-6HF). Cal compiled a then-record 95 straight games without an error. He committed just 3 errors all season finishing with a MLB record .996 fielding percentage. Suprisingly, he did not win the Gold Glove. The Gold Glove that season went to a flashier SS by the name of Ozzie Guillen who had committed 17 errors.

1991: MVP Season

Cal applied the crouched stance all season and the results were staggering. 1991 was a magical year for Cal. Cal never went through a slump and went into the All Star break leading the Majors with a .348 clip. Cal finished by hitting .323 with 34 HR's and 114 RBI's.

After the season, the awards piled up for Cal. He won his second AL MVP award, the first of two Gold Glove Awards, the 1991 All Star game MVP award (hitting a 3-run home run), the Gatorade Home Run Derby contest (hitting a then record 12 home runs in 22 swings, including hitting 7 consecutive), a Silver Slugger Award, the AP Player of the Year Award, and The Sporting News Player of the Year Award. Ripken was the first AL MVP in MLB history to win the award from a sub .500 club. The Orioles finished in 6th place with 67-95 record.

1995:Saving Baseball

After the 1994 strike, baseball needed a hero. Ripken was the man. Cal would sign before and after games to bring back fans. It is known that Ripken would sometimes sign autographs for 2-3 hours before and after a game had ended.

On September 6, 1995 all of America had their eyes on Ripken. ESPN nationally televised the game and it still ranks as the network's highest watched non-football game ever. Many consider that game as the game where Cal Ripken, Jr. became a future Hall of Famer and cemented his status as a baseball legend. He homered in games 2129 and 2130. But in the fourth inning of game #2131, he homered on a 3-0 pitch offering from Angels' Shawn Boskie.

When the game became official in the bottom of the fifth inning, the numbers on the B&O Wearhouse turned from 2130 to 2131. Ripken had finally accomplished what many thought was once unbreakable. The standing ovation Cal received went a lengthy 22 minutes and 16 seconds. Ballparks across the nation were watching the game on the jumbotron as many fans stood and cheered for 5 minutes as they watched Ripken do a lap around Oriole Park.

The Orioles won that game 4-2.

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 still 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 was clocked at an impressive 95 mph. He owned the fastest bat speed among the 2 teams that night.

2001:Retirement

In June 2001, Ripken announced his retirement. This led to a "Ripken Farewell Tour" where it seemed like he homered at every stop. He received standing ovations for every at-bat on the road from fans and even the opposing teams, which is unheard of. At every stop on the "Farewell Tour", the opposing teams would honor Cal with a pre-game ceremony.

He was voted the starting third baseman in the All Star game on 7/10/2001 in Seattle. With Ripken hitting eighth, he homered off the first pitch he saw Chan Ho Park. He ended up with All Star MVP honors. He is the only AL player in MLB history with multi-All Star Game MVP Awards (1991+2001).

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