Cal Ripken Jr

Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. (August 24, 1960-) refined both the shortstop position - at 6’4”, he was one of the tallest ever at that position – and the “everyday player”, demolishing Lou Gehrig’s 56-year old consecutive games streak of 2,131, finishing with a seemingly untouchable 2,632 games to become baseball’s “Iron Man.” Ripken possessed all facets of the game, combining agility, power and durability; Ripken holds the record for most home runs by a shortstop and the highest single season fielding percentage at that position. Cal played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles (1981-2001) earning the 1982 American League Rookie of the Year Award, two Gold Gloves, eight Silver Slugger Awards and two AL Most Valuable Player Awards (1983, 1992). Cal had a career year in 1983 leading the league in hits (211), runs (121) and doubles (47) while batting .318 and capturing his first MVP Award. The 19-time All-Star was MLB All-Star Game MVP twice (1991, 2001) and he was a member of the 1983 World Series champion Orioles. Ripken, heroically, hit a home run in his record-setting 2,131st consecutive game and in the final All-Star game of his career in 2001. Cal Ripken retired in 2007 posting a  .276 career batting average with 3,184 hits, 1,647 runs scored, 1,695 RBI and 431 home runs. Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.