Glen Macnow - Cal Ripken, Jr.: Hall of Fame Baseball Superstar

Cal Ripken, Jr. Hall of Fame Baseball Superstar

To baseball fans, Cal Ripken, Jr., is best known as the "Iron Man" for his dedication to his team, the Baltimore Orioles, and Major League Baseball. In 1995, Cal broke the consecutive games played record held by Lou Gehrig, and extended it to 2,632 straight games. Learn about the 19-time all-star and why he is considered one of the best baseball players ever.

About the Author

Glen Macnow co-hosts a sports talk show on WIP-AM in Philadelphia. A former sports business writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Macnow has written a number of sports biographies as well as other Philly-related sports books.

Cal Ripken, Jr., connects for a home-run blast!

Imagine if you could build the perfect baseball player. What would he be like?

First, he would be strong. He would play every day, even if he had the flu or a sprained ankle. He would never ask to rest during the second game of a doubleheader. He would never want to be taken out for a pinch hitter against a tough pitcher like Nolan Ryan.

Second, he would be a shortstop, because that is perhaps the toughest position to play. He would be among the best fielders, bobbling few grounders and gracefully turning the double play. His arm would be strong and true.

Third, he would be a great hitter. Each season his team could count on him for 25 home runs, 35 doubles, and 100 runs batted in. He would play even better when the game was on the line. As he got older, his stroke would become even more powerful.

You could add other qualities to this fantasy ballplayer. Make him loyal, the type who would play forever in one city and never try to leave for more money. Make him polite to fans and reporters. Make him a leader among teammates and liked even by opponents. Make him Rookie of the Year and a two-time Most Valuable Player.

Want to go further? Imagine that this player is the son of a coach and the big brother of the second baseman. That would be the perfect player. He would even be wholesome enough to do commercials for milk. Of course, such a player seems too perfect to ever be real. But he is.

Cal Ripken, Jr., is all those things. He was an all-star shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles. He was both a great hitter and a great fielder. He was durable enough to break Lou Gehrigs record of 2,130 consecutive games on September 6, 1995. In 1996 he broke the worlds longest consecutive game streak of 2,215. He would carry both records out to 2,632 consecutive games before giving himself the day off on September 20, 1996.

Ripken played on a team where his brother Billy was the second baseman. His father, Cal, Sr., once managed the club and was also the third-base coach. When we were boys, Billy and I would pretend we were grown-ups playing together in the major leagues, Cal says. I think all brothers pretend that way. But in our case, the dream came true.

In many ways, Ripken is a baseball fans dream come true. At six foot four and 220 pounds, he remains the biggest shortstop in major-league history. Still, his defense was so steady that he would be considered a star player even if he hit just .240 every year.

In 1990, for example, Cal set a major-league record by making just three errors in a whole season. How good is that? Consider that Brooks Robinson, widely considered the best-fielding third baseman ever, once made three errors in one inning. Robinson was Cals hero as a child.

As good as Ripkens fielding was, his hitting was even better. He was the first shortstop ever to hit 20 or more home runs in 10 straight seasons. In 1991, the year in which he won his second Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, Cal piled up a .323 batting average, 46 doubles, 34 homers, and 114 runs batted in (RBIs).

I never saw some of the old-timers, once said Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson. But in all my fifty-seven years, Ripken is the best shortstop Ive ever seen. Hes the complete package.

Is Ripken the top shortstop ever? Thats difficult to say. Baseball historians usually regard Honus Wagner as the best. Wagner played twenty-one seasons, mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a fluid fielder, and his .329 lifetime batting average is among the highest ever. But Wagners career ended in 1917. Few alive today ever saw him play and can compare him to Ripken.

Later, Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs was called the best. Banks played from 1953 to 1971. He twice led the National League in home runs. Like Cal, he was twice named the Most Valuable Player. But after nine seasons at shortstop, he was moved to first base and sometimes played third base or the outfield.

Three shortstops emerged in the 1990s that many thought could become the best ever. Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox had seven great seasons as a shortstop, but injuries cut his career a bit short. For ten years, Alex Rodriguez was considered the best hitting shortstop of all-time. But when he signed with the New York Yankees he switched to third base. That leaves Rodriguezs teammate, Derek Jeter. By the end of the 2012 baseball season, Jeter had amassed 3,304 hits, eleventh on the all-time list. A very good fielder, Jeter has won 5 Gold Glove Awards. He is also considered to be among the best postseason players in baseball history. Yet he cannot match Ripkens power numbers.

So, it can be argued that Ripken was the top shortstop of the past fifty years. But no shortstop or third baseman comes close to his record of starting in 16 straight All-Star games.

Despite it all, Ripken got noticed much less than most major-league superstars. Others make headlines for complaining about their contracts or abusing drugs or arguing with umpires. But Cal only drew notice for his good play. And playing in Baltimore, he did not get the attention he would in a larger city such as New York or Los Angeles or Chicago.

For one week in 1991, however, Ripken took baseballs center stage. As usual, Cal was voted by fans to be the American League (AL)s starting shortstop in the All-Star game. He came to the game, in Toronto, leading the league in batting and second in home runs.

The day before the All-Star game, some of baseballs top sluggers gathered at the Toronto SkyDome for a homer-hitting contest. Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants was there. So was Howard Johnson of the New York Mets. Many thought that Darryl Strawberry of the Los Angeles Dodgers would win the Home Run Derby. Another favorite was Cecil Fielder, the gigantic belter for the Detroit Tigers.

Ripken was an elite hitter, and baseballs most durable player. But he also excelled in the field, winning two Gold Glove Awards as the best fielding shortstop in the American League.

In all, there were eight players in the contest, including Cal. The seven other men took 85 swings against batting-practice pitching. They combined for 15 homers.

Ripken took 22 swings. He hit an astonishing 12 homers, some of them way into the upper deck.

One of Cals blasts nearly hit a hot-dog vendor in the stands 440 feet away. Almost before that ball landed, another shot went 450 feet into the third deck. On his last swing, Ripken decided to dig down deep. He hit the longest ball of his life. It was a 475-foot belt that might have gone farther had a brave fan not reached up to stop it. The ball fell in the fifth deck at the SkyDome. Only Jose Canseco had reached that deck before.