Cal Ripken Jr.

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.

Babe Ruth’s Infamous “Called Shot”

One of the greatest sports legends of all time is Babe Ruth’s called home run shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

But did he really call the home run shot or was he pointing at something else?

Video (taken by an ammeter filmmaker Matt Miller Kandle, Sr.) shows that Ruth did point towards something two pitches before he blasted the famous home run. But no one is quite sure if he was pointing at centerfield, pitcher Charlie Root or the Cubs’ bench. (Reports say Ruth had been jarring with Cubs’ players all game, so he might have just been angrily pointing in their general direction.)

So how did the story grow?

Ruth’s second home run in game 3 probably would have been merely an exclamation point for the 1932 World Series and for Ruth’s career, had it not been for reporter Joe Williams. Williams was a respected but opinionated sports editor for the Scripps-Howard newspapers. In a late edition the same day of the game, Williams wrote this headline that appeared in the New York World-Telegram, evoking billiards terminology: “RUTH CALLS SHOT AS HE PUTS HOME RUN NO. 2 IN SIDE POCKET.” Williams’ summary of the story included, “In the fifth, with the Cubs riding him unmercifully from the bench, Ruth pointed to center and punched a screaming liner to a spot where no ball had been hit before.” Apparently Williams’ article was the only one written the day of the game that made a reference to Ruth pointing to center field. It was probably due to the wide circulation of the Scripps-Howard newspapers that gave the story life, as many read Williams’ article and assumed it was accurate. A couple of days later, other stories started to appear stating that Ruth had called his shot, a few even written by reporters who were not at the game.
Regardless of whether or not Ruth actually did call the home run shot, the moment is legendary and will be a part of baseball history forever. In fact, most would probably agree that historical moments like this need to be a part of baseball’s past. The Babe is one of the most well known figures in sports and what kid hasn’t impersonated the Babe while pointing to his or her fence during a game with friends in the backyard?

 

Stan Musial

Not many players in the history of baseball have come close to matching the accomplishments and consistency of Stan Musial. Fewer engendered the admiration and affection of fans at home and in every ballpark on the circuit as did this Polish-American ballplayer from a small steel-mill town in Pennsylvania.Musial signed as a pitcher when he was seventeen, Stan was 15-8 in two seasons with Williamson, West Virginia, and the scouting report filed on the young lefty recommended his release because he was wild and inconsistent. Despite the report, he was sent to Florida as a pitcher for the full 1940 season and, under the tutelage of former Chicago White Sox great Dickie Kerr, he compiled an impressive 18-5 record. Kerr, who often had small squads and as few as 15 players on his roster, also played Stan in the outfield. Musial responded by batting a lofty .352. Later in the season, he made a spectacular diving catch in the outfield, landing on his left shoulder, and the injury finished him as a pitcher. Musial remained in baseball as an outfielder. The next year he tore through Class C and the International League with Rochester before hitting .426 in a late September call-up with the St. Lous Cardinals.

That was the beginning of a long love affair with St. Louis that would keep Musial a ST. Louis Cardinal for a very long 22 seasons, a team record. After his playing career,  he served as the club’sgeneral manager, and senior vice president for more than 25 years.

The lefthanded-hitting Musial had pretty good speed and was finamous for his compressed, very closed batting crouch, from which he appeared to be peering at the pitcher. He won his first National League batting title in only his second full year and led the league in hits six times, doubles eight times, triples five times, runs five times, while winning five more overall batting titles. Preacher Roe claimed to have the best way to pitch Musial: “I throw him four wide ones and then I try to pick him off first base.” Although not expected to be a home-run hitter, Musial developed his power without increasing strikeouts, and averaged an amazine 31 home runs per season from 1948 to 1957. Musial once told Roger Kahn that he hit so well because he always seemed to know what the pitch was by seeing the rotation of the ball as it approached the plate. When he retired, Musial owned or shared 29 league records, 17 major league records, 9 All-Star records, including the most home runs (6), and almost every St. Louis Cardinals career offensive record. In 1956 The Sporting News named Musial its first Player of the Decade.

For one who played so long, Stan Musial was unbelievably consistent. He whacked 1,815 hits at home and the exact same number on the road. He scored a whopping 1,949 runs and drove in 1,951. He batted .310 or better 16 straight seasons and added a .330 season when he was 41. Over a full 21 seasons he averaged a spectacular 172 hits, 92 runs scored, 92 RBI, 34 doubles, and 23 home runs per year. His best offensive year was 1948, when he hit a career-high .376 and just missed the NL Triple Crown by only a single homer. That year he led the National League in batting average, slugging, hits, doubles, triples, runs, and RBI. On May 2, 1954, he set a Major League record with an incredible five home runs in a doubleheader. And on a hot July evenin, July 12, 1955 his 12th-inning home run won the All-Star Game for the NL. Brooklyn, New York fans labeled him “Stan the Man” for the barrage he wreaked on Brooklyn pitching every time he came to Ebbets Field. Stan rarely experienced long slumps at all; he put together strong starts, very solid mid-seasons, and many great season finishes. He hit .323 or higher in each month of the season, with September-October his best months. He was also the very first man to play more than 1,000 games at each of two positions.

Immediately following Stan Musial’s retirement as an player in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson named him the director of the National Council on Physical Fitness. For a single season, 1967, Musial was the St. Louis Cardinal general manager. With Musial’s longtime  close friend Red Schoendienst as the Cardinal field manager, the Cardinals romped to a league pennant and beat the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

On or off the field Musial wore a genuine smile. Although he did not always agree with umpires or managers, he did not argue calls or managerial decisions. He made quality time for his family, fans, church, and community organizations. A bronze statue stands in front of Busch Stadium as a tribute to the greatest St. Louis Cardinal, Stan the Man. And in 1972 he achieved the very unique distinction of becoming the first foreign-born player to receive the Polish government’s Merited Champions Medal, their most presitigious sports award.

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