Player Spotlight: Cal Ripken, Jr.
From time to time, Seasoltz Sports Blog will be publishing a segment called “Player Spotlight.” These articles will feature the careers of the best players from the sports world in the past. Players will be looked at in historical perspective as well as include background information, stats and more.
The first Player Spotlight: Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken Jr. broke into the major leagues on August 10th, 1981 as a twenty year old drafted straight out of high school. Cal played his first season as a Baltimore Oriole, the only team he played for his entire career.
Known as the “Iron Man,” Cal played in a record 2,632 straight games, a record that will stand the test of time. On the night Cal broke the record of 2130 straight, previously held by Lou Gehrig, he hit a homerun in an emotional game which was later labeled as Major League Baseball’s most memorable moment of all time.
Cal revolutionized the shortstop position. Being 6’4” and 225 pounds, he was an oddity in the infield. Cal proved that a big man with homerun power could dominate the position, previously occupied by smaller, faster players. Perhaps the greatest defensive performance ever came in 1990 when Cal set the Major League record for fewest errors at shortstop, committing only 3 all season.
Cal ended his career having played in 3,001 games and having 3,184 hits. His lifetime average was .276 and he ended up with 431 homeruns. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2000.
When asked “How would you like to be remembered?” Cal answered, “To be remembered at all is pretty special.”
Never will the Iron Man be forgotten.
