When was cal ripken born

The owners threatened to put replacement players on the field to start the season if the MLBPA did not acquiesce to their demands. It was at this time that Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos told the press he would forfeit every game before using replacement players.

Ripken had been given permission by the MLBPA to cross the picket line and play in order to keep his consecutive games streak alive, but he declined. Junior had been given the chance to be a replacement player back in but passed on that opportunity as well.

Thankfully, the decision of playing out the season sans labor agreement was settled in a court of law instead of across the negotiating table. Future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled in favor of starting the games until an amicable resolution could be worked out between the two warring parties.

As the year progressed, some deranged individuals began to come out of the woodwork. Its something that you have to think about, you have to take certain precautions and you have to deal with it. I think of myself just like everybody else. But when something like this happens, you have to think about things in a little bit different way.

Former Oriole manager Earl Weaver threw out the first pitch in front of a sold-out Camden Yards crowd. When the warehouse banner was unfurled to 2,, Cal received a four-minute standing ovation. Ripken smacked three hits in the game, including a home run in the sixth inning. After the game, pitcher Jim Gott presented Junior with the ball from his first major league win—against the Orioles on May 30, , the same day the streak started.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cal bashed a home run over the left field wall, the Oriole Park faithful erupting with cheers as he circled the bases. The loudest applause for Ripken occurred when the warehouse banner was unfurled to 2, amidst a shower of fireworks at the end of the top half of the fifth inning.

After numerous curtain calls, Cal was pushed out onto the field by Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Bonilla. Starting out on the first base side of the field, Cal began his now famous lap around the inside of Camden Yards.

He high-fived many of the fans that ringed the lower box seat area while waving to the rest of the crowd along way. Over 5. Baseball enthusiasts from all over the country were proud of the local boy that got to live out his dream of playing for his hometown team. The positive synergy from this fall night in Baltimore all but erased the bitter memories of the strike. It was an unbelievable experience.

The Orioles started out the campaign playing great baseball under new manager Dave Johnson. A few months into the season, Cal passed another milestone in baseball history. A month later, Johnson moved Cal to third base and started rookie infielder Manny Alexander at shortstop in a game against Toronto. However, it soon became apparent that the young player was not ready to assume the role.

Overall, the Orioles had a good year in , finishing four games behind the first-place New York Yankees. The Baltimore bats were shut down by strong Yankee pitching , as the Orioles lost the series four games to one.

The Orioles acquired shortstop Mike Bordick in the off-season, and Ripken made the permanent switch to third base. The team started out the campaign playing great baseball and kept a tight grip on first place for the entire year.

The Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners to open the postseason, and Cal led the club with a. Junior continued his consecutive games streak up until the end of the season.

It was the last home game, and Cal figured it was the best way to end all of the speculation over the winter about when he would finally sit out a game. The following year started off on a sad note for Cal and his family as his father passed away on March 25 from lung cancer.

The grieving Oriole legend also persevered though some nagging injuries that limited his playing time. Through it all, he still managed to post a career-high batting average. Ripken also garnered six hits in an interleague game against Atlanta, one shy of the Oriole record. Cal continued to play third base for the Orioles at a high level, but it was soon apparent to Baltimore baseball fans that all good things must come to an end.

In June of , Ripken announced that he was retiring at the conclusion of the season. In July, he was named to his 19th All-Star team. In a truly classy gesture, American League shortstop Alex Rodriguez switched spots with Ripken, who was playing third base, allowing Cal to start the game at his former position.

Junior homered in the third inning off of Chan Ho Park leading the American League squad to a victory. Quite often, teams schedule these tributes after the player has retired and against a poor-drawing opponent to pad the attendance. Ripken also holds numerous fielding records at shortstop, and in he was named to the All-Century team. Ripken has done a considerable amount of charitable work since he retired from baseball. In , he and his brother Bill formed the Cal Ripken Sr.

The goal of the foundation is to give underprivileged children the chance to learn baseball through clinics and camps. Cal has also entered the business side of the game, purchasing financial interests in minor league baseball teams. Locally, he is the owner of the Aberdeen Ironbirds, an Oriole affiliate.

In addition, he runs a state-of-the-art youth baseball facility that is adjacent to Ripken Stadium. After waiting the required five years, Cal was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, garnering of first-place votes in Also in , Cal Ripken Jr.

During a trip to China, Cal and a number of former major leaguers put on baseball clinics for over Chinese children. Their efforts were chronicled in the documentary film A Shortstop in China.

The Ripken family continues to perform philanthropic work through the Cal Ripken Sr. Louis Browns. Support SABR today! Central Ave. All Rights Reserved. Get in The Game. Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. His father had been with the Baltimore Orioles as a minor-league catcher since , and after a shoulder injury dashed his hopes of a major-league career, the elder Ripken stayed on with the club as a coach and manager at both the minor and major-league level.

While the family made their home in Aberdeen, Maryland, Ripken's father traveled around from Wisconsin to South Dakota before finally managing the Orioles minor-league team in North Carolina. His father would also work extra jobs in the summer to help the family keep their heads above water. During the summers, the family would leave Aberdeen, about 30 miles north of Baltimore, and travel with their father during the baseball season. Even with all of the traveling alongside his father, Ripken never saw much of him because of the long hours he put in at the ball park.

He soon came to the conclusion that the only way he would be able to see his father was if he played baseball. Sitting in the stands watching his father coach, the young Ripken learned the finer points of the game that would one day be his life.

After the games, he would spend what little time he had with his father discussing the games. At the age when most young children dream of becoming a fireman or an astronaut, Ripken had already decided what his future career would be. The teachers would say, 'Write down what you want to be, ' and by eleven or twelve, I had narrowed it to baseball. In , Ripken's father was promoted to a coaching position with the Orioles in Baltimore and Ripken was a constant presence pitching and hitting during batting practices, retrieving balls, getting advice from major-league stars like Brooks Robinson and dreaming of becoming a Baltimore Oriole.

After games, Ripken would quiz his father further about the day's game, picking up more knowledge about the intricacies of the game. A two time letter-winner in soccer, it was baseball that was Ripken's first love during high school and he made the varsity team as a freshman. Behind his play, his high school team was crowned state Class A champions in and, soon after, Ripken was selected by the Orioles in the second round of the annual baseball draft.

His dream was complete, as he was now a member of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. Ripken was employed by the Orioles amateur-league team in Bluefield, West Virginia, where he decided to play shortstop instead of pitcher.

He reasoned that if he failed as a shortstop, he could instead try out as a pitcher. His first season with the Orioles organization was not an amazing success, he had a mediocre. Soon after, he was moved to the Oriole's Florida Instructional League team in Miami and improved to a.

At the end of the season, he was promoted to a spot on the Oriole's AA team in Charlotte, North Carolina and had a. In , he had a. Behind this performance, he was named the Southern League's all-star and was soon moved up the ladder again, this time to the Oriole's AAA team in Rochester, New York in He continued to develop in Rochester, with a batting average of.

Ripken had a batting average of only. The Orioles had traded former third baseman Doug DeCinces, who had been with the club since , to the California Angels believing that third base would be Ripken's ultimate spot on the team. Although he had started out switching back and forth between third base and shortstop, Oriole manager Earl Weaver placed Ripken at third base to start his second season. The result was Ripken hitting.

While his hitting suffered, Ripken was still a good defender, compiling a then-record 95 straight games without an error. He committed just 3 errors all season, finishing with a MLB record. However, he did not win the Gold Glove. Ripken had been seen to use a more crouched stance during the season and the results were much better than previous years. Ripken led the American League with hits and a. He finished the season by hitting.

He also led the league with 85 extra-base hits and total bases. The only other player that has accomplished this feat is Garret Anderson of the Anaheim Angels in The Orioles finished in 6th place that year with a record. It still ranks as one of the network's most watched baseball games ever. Cal's children, Rachel and Ryan, threw out the ceremonial first balls.

Ripken hit a home run to a seat now marked in the stadium in his th consecutive game. He had previously hit a home-run in to exactly the same seat to break Ernie Banks ' record for most home-runs by a shortstop.

During the ovation, Cal also did a lap around the entire Camden Yards warning track to shake hands and give high-fives to the fans. ESPN never went to a commercial break during the entire ovation. In the game, Ripken went 2 for 4, hitting a home run and a double in the game. Mike Mussina recorded the win. On September 20 before the final home game of the season against the New York Yankees, Ripken decided to end his streak at 2, games. Rookie third baseman Ryan Minor started in his place.

Realizing that the streak was coming to an end, the fans, his teammates, and the visiting Yankees gave Ripken an ovation after the game's first out was recorded.

In , Cal had his statistically best season since Although he was injured at the beginning and the end of the season, he managed to hit 18 homers in only at-bats one HR every Ripken's season ended early due to injury when he was only 9 hits away from joining the hit club.

In June , Ripken announced his retirement. In a tribute to Cal's achievements and stature in the game, shortstop Alex Rodriguez insisted on exchanging positions with third baseman Ripken for the first inning, so that Ripken could play shortstop as he had for most of his career.

In the third inning, Ripken made his first plate appearance and was greeted with a standing ovation. Ripken then homered off the first pitch from Chan Ho Park.

Ripken's 8 was retired by the Baltimore Orioles in a ceremony before the final home game of the season. Power hitting shortstops such as Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada are often seen to be part of Ripken's legacy. Nonetheless, Ripken demonstrated the ability to play excellent defense at shortstop, and as a result remained a fixture there for well over a decade, leading the league in assists several times, winning the Gold Glove twice, and, in , setting the MLB record for best fielding percentage in a season at his position.

Though not a flashy fielder, Ripken displayed excellent fundamentals, and studied batters and even his own pitching staff so he could position himself to compensate for his lack of physical speed, even calling pitches at times.

His success is reflected in his career range factor per game of 4. Ripken's legacy as a fielder is reflected by his place near the top of almost every defensive statstical category — he holds at least one all-time record for either season, career, or most seasons leading the league in assists, putouts, fielding percentage, double plays, and fewest errors.

Ripken's power, which led to such distinctions as the most home runs by shortstop, and 13th for career doubles, also had some unfortunate consequences. His propensity to drive the ball often led to his grounders getting to fielders quickly for tailor-made double-play balls. In , Ripken passed Hank Aaron as the player who had grounded into the most double plays in his career — interestingly enough, he is also second on the fielding side for double plays by a shortstop.

Ripken has also made donations to charity causes, including many donations supporting research on Lou Gehrig's disease. He and his brother Billy also formed the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to give underprivileged children the opportunity to attend baseball camps around the country and learn the game. The Foundation is a branch of Ripken Baseball.