Cal Ripken, Jr. (2007)


Date of Birth: 8/24/1960
Birthplace: Havre de Grace, Maryland

Cal Ripken, Jr. came from a baseball family, with a father who was a major league coach and manager and a brother who also played in the major leagues. At one point in his career, Ripken played with his brother for the Baltimore Orioles and their father was the Orioles manager.

Baltimore Orioles

Ripken was drafted by the Orioles in 1978, and he played on their minor league teams from 1978 to 1981. He made his first start with the Orioles in 1981, playing in 23 games with them that season. The following year he was named the American League Rookie of the Year and the Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year. In 1982, Ripken batted .264 with 158 hits, 32 doubles, 28 home runs, and 93 RBIs in 160 games.

In 1983, Ripken won the AL MVP award, the Sporting News Player of the Year award, and the first of eight Silver Slugger awards. He led the AL in games played, hits, and doubles. That season he batted .318 with career highs in hits (211) and doubles (47), 27 home runs, and 102 RBIs in 162 games. He also showed his defensive skills, leading the AL in assists with 534 and leading all AL shortstops in double plays turned with 113.

Ripken again led the AL in games played in 1984 with 162. He had 195 hits, 37 doubles, 27 home runs, 86 RBIs, 89 strikeouts to 71 walks, and a .304 batting average. He led the AL in assists with 583 and he led AL shortstops in double plays turned with 122 and in putouts with 297. He won his second Silver Slugger award in 1984.

Ripken's batting average dropped to .282 in 1985 and 1986, but he still had better than average seasons. He finished the 1985 season with 181 hits, 32 doubles, 26 home runs, 110 RBIs, and 68 strikeouts to 67 walks in 161 games. The following year, he had 177 hits, 35 doubles, 25 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 60 strikeouts to 70 walks in 162 games. Defensively, he led the AL in assists with 482 in 1986, and he led AL shortstops in double plays turned (123) and putouts (286) in 1985. He won Silver Slugger awards both seasons.

Ripken struggled offensively in 1987, batting just .252. He led the AL in games played with 162, and he had 157 hits, 28 doubles, 27 home runs, and 98 RBIs. He struck out 77 times and walked 81 times. His batting improved in 1988, when he batted .264 in 161 games. He had 152 hits, 25 doubles, 233 home runs, and 81 RBIs. He walked a career high 102 times while striking out only 69 times. Defensively, he continued to be one of the best shortstops in the game, leading AL shortstops in putouts with 284.

Although Ripken batted just .257 in 1989, he won his fifth Silver Slugger award. He had 166 hits, 30 doubles, 21 home runs, 93 RBIs, and 72 strikeouts to 57 walks in 162 games. He led the AL in games played and in assists (531). He also led AL shortstops in double plays with 119 and in putouts wtih 276. The next season, he batted .250 in 161 games, and he had 150 hits, 28 doubles, 21 home runs, and 84 RBIs. He walked 82 times in 1990, while striking out 66 times.

Ripken won his second AL MVP award and his second Sporting News Player of the Year award in 1991. That season he also won another Silver Slugger award, The Associated Press Player of the Year award, the Baseball Digest Player of the Year award, the All Star Game MVP award, and his first Gold Glove. He once more led the AL in games played (162) and in assists (528), and he led AL shortstops in double plays turned (114) and putouts (267). He batted .323 with 210 hits, 46 doubles, and career highs in home runs (34) and RBIs (114).

In 1992, Ripken won the Lou Gehrig Memorial award and the Roberto Clemente award. He won his second Gold Glove, and he led all AL shortstops in double plays turned (119) and in putouts (287). He batted .251 with 160 hits, 29 doubles, 14 home runs, and 72 RBIs in a league leading 162 games.

Ripken won his seventh Silver Slugger award in 1994. He batted .257 with 165 hits, 26 doubles, 24 home runs, and 90 RBIs in a league leading 162 games. He led the league again in assists with 495. In the 1994 strike shortened season, his .315 batting average earned him Silver Slugger award number eight. He had 140 hits, 19 doubles, and 75 RBIs in 112 games.

Ripken was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1995. He finished the season with 144 hits, 33 doubles, 17 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .262 batting average in 144 games. He again led all AL shortstops in double plays turned with 100. The next year he played in a league leading and career high 163 games. In 1996, he had 178 hits, 40 doubles, 26 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .278 batting average. He led the AL in assists with 483.

In 1997, Ripken led the AL in games played for the final time. He finished the season with 166 hits, 30 doubles, 17 home runs, 84 RBIs, 73 strikeouts to 56 walks, and a .270 batting average in 162 games. He had similar numbers the next year, with 163 hits, 27 doubles, 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .271 batting average in 161 games. After the 1998 season, his playing time was greatly reduced.

Ripken played in just 86 games in 1999. He had a career high batting average of .340 with 113 hits, 27 doubles, 18 home runs, and 57 RBIs. In 2000, he played in 83 games and his batting average dropped to .256.

Although Ripken batted just .239 in 2001, his last season as a major league player, he won two important awards. He was named the All Star Game MVP and he received the Commissioner's Historic Achievement award. That year, he had 114 hits, 16 doubles, 14 home runs, and 68 RBIs in 128 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Gold Glove (2 times)
  • Silver Slugger award (8 times)
  • AL Rookie of the Year
  • Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year
  • AL MVP (2 times)
  • Sporting News Player of the Year (2 times)
  • Associated Press Player of the Year
  • Baseball Digest Player of the Year
  • All Star Game MVP (2 times)
  • Associated Press Athlete of the Year
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award
  • Roberto Clemente award
  • Commissioner's Historic Achievement award
  • Led AL in games played (9 times)
  • Led AL in assists (7 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Ripken in 21 seasons (1981-2001) in the major leagues include:

  • 15 seasons with 150 or more hits, with highs of 211 in 1983 and 210 in 1991
  • 10 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with highs of 47 in 1983 and 46 in 1991
  • 12 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 34 in 1991
  • 5 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .340 in 1999 in 86 games

Career batting statistics for Ripken include:

  • 3,001 games played
  • 3,184 hits
  • 603 doubles
  • 431 home runs
  • 1,695 RBIs
  • 1,305 strikeouts to 1,129 walks
  • .276 batting average
  • .340 on-base percentage
  • .787 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Ripken at shortstop include:

  • 2,302 games played
  • 225 errors
  • 6,977 assists
  • 1,565 double plays
  • 3,651 putouts
  • .979 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Ripken include:

  • 3 postseasons
  • 28 games played
  • 110 at-bats
  • 37 hits
  • 10 doubles
  • 1 home run
  • 8 RBIs
  • 22 strikeouts to 12 walks
  • .336 batting average

Post Playing Years

Ripken was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007 on the first ballot with 98.5% of the vote.

Source for Information
Wikipedia - Cal Ripken, Jr.
ESPN - Cal Ripken, Jr.
Baseball Reference - Cal Ripken, Jr.

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