Uncategorized firegeezer on 30 Jul 2007 07:00 am
Morning Lineup - July 30
Cal Ripken, Shortstop
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Yesterday Cal Ripken, Jr. was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. And it is not an exaggeration to say that there are few who are more deserving of the honor. His dedication to the game both on the field and off is literally unmatched. After every game he selflessly would stand by the dugout and sign autographs until every request was filled….always. And when his playing career was over, he continued to advance the sport by building a new stadium in his home town of Havre de Grace, Maryland and then stock it with a youth league designed to develop players of the future. His philanthopy was spread out to dozens of other towns where he has put seed money into new youth leagues.
Ripken started with the Baltimore Orioles in 1981, splitting his time between shortstop and 3rd base for the first two seasons. In 1983 he remained at shortstop and that was the year the team won the World Series. He is probably best known for his amazing streak of consecutive games played, 2,632, shattering the old record of 2,130 held by Lou Gehrig. “The Streak” began on May 30, 1982 and continued until Sept. 20, 1998 when he removed himself from the lineup to voluntarily end it.
But it was more than “The Streak” that made him a shoo-in at the Hall of Fame. Here are a few of his achievements on the field of play:
- Rookie of the Year - 1982
- 2 times AL Most Valuable Player
- 8 Silver Slugger Awards (top offensive shortstop)
- 2 Golden Glove Awards
- 19 Appearances in the All-Star Game
- 8th all-time MLB in games played - 3,001
- 3,184 hits
- 4th all-time MLB in at bats - 11,551
- 8th all-time in fielding percentage - .979
- In 1990 he had an astounding fielding pct. of .996
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3rd all-time in double plays - 1,565
And the list goes on. A great player. A gentleman. A representative of the game the likes of which you may never see again. Congratulations to Cal Ripken, Jr.
