In a sports era haunted by players’ involvement (or possible involvement) with performance-enhancing drugs, it makes one appreciate what a fine career Cal Ripken Jr. had.

Ripken was never the prototype player when he made his big league debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 1982. With most shortstops being smaller and fleet of foot during his career, Ripken was mammoth at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t as swift defensively as his counterparts, as evidence by his back-to-back Gold Glove Awards in 1991 and 1992. He also led the league in assists in multiple seasons and set an MLB record in 1990 for best fielding percentage of any shortstop in a single season.

Ripken often overcame his lack of athleticism by studying opponents and situations so he could be in the best possible position defensively. His hard work and dedication is evident with the way he holds at least one all-time record in these categories: assists, fielding percentage, fewest errors, putouts and double plays.

Cal was no slack at the plate, either. He essentially opened the door for present day power-hitting shortstops like Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada by blasting at least 10-plus home runs in 20 of 21 of his major league seasons. (Something unheard of for shortstops in his era.) He hit a career-high 34 dingers in 1991 and has hit more home runs (345) than any other shortstop to play the game.  

Of course, the “Iron Man” is most remembered for his career longevity and consecutive games played.

He appeared in 2,632 straight games without a day of rest, a record that still stands today and is unlikely to be broken for some time. Some believe his pursuit of most consecutive games played saved baseball after fans were turned off of the game following the strike-shorten season of 1994.

Among some of his other career achievements:

-         19-time All-Star

-         8-time Silver Slugger

-         2-time AL MVP

-         1982 AL Rookie of the Year

Ripken was a unanimous Hall of Fame selection in 2007, garnering 98.53 percent of votes. It was the highest percentage of votes for a position player ever, as well as the third highest overall. He also had his No. 8 retired by the Baltimore Orioles in 2001, ranks 78 on The Sporting News’s list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

Cal Ripken Jr. was never the flashiest player and his low-key lifestyle kept him out of the public eye, but nobody should downplay the impact he had on baseball. He was one of the finest to ever play the game.

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