The Iron Man
You know the one I'm talking about.
No, this week’s post is not a breakdown of the classic Black Sabbath song. Nor will we be dissecting the Marvel character of the same name. If I were going to do a deep dive of a comic book character out of nowhere, I’d start with Green Lantern. But this is a baseball newsletter, so let’s stick with baseball. Which means we must be talking about Cal Ripken Jr.
This is the second in a series about players who spent their whole careers with one team, and no player better exemplifies what it means to be a Baltimore Oriole more than Cal Ripken Jr. And that’s saying something, considering they’re a historical franchise who has featured legends like Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, and Eddie Murray. Frank Robinson and Murray didn’t spend their entire careers in Baltimore though, and perhaps if I was a generation or two older, I’d give serious consideration to Palmer and the recently deceased Brooks Robinson. But I’m not, so Cal is the choice for me.
And you can’t go wrong with Ripken. He is an Oriole down to his core. He was born in Maryland, despite moving around a lot in his youth because his dad was a player and a coach, and his dad later became manager of the O’s when Ripken was playing for them. In fact, Cal Sr. coached both of his sons, Cal Jr. and Billy, in 1987. The brothers formed Baltimore’s middle infield from 1987-92. So, much like the subject of last week’s profile, Tony Gwynn, Ripken seemed as destined for Baltimore as the former was for San Diego.
The two superstars also had something else in common. In addition to being Hall-of-Famers, they both received criticism for what they did best, amazingly enough. Whereas Gwynn was knocked for focusing too much on his batting average at the expense of power, causing some to claim that he was limited and overrated, Ripken was both lauded and attacked for the iron man streak that defines his career.
It is the accomplishment he is known for. On September 6, 1995, Ripken started his 2,131st straight game for the Orioles, breaking the legendary Lou Gehrig’s MLB record. The feat is astounding, and given how players are managed today, not likely to be broken. Never say never, but it sure isn’t happening anytime soon.
The game against the Angels in which he broke the record is still one of ESPN and MLB’s highest rated broadcasts, and many people give it credit for helping baseball bounce back after the Strike. I’ve noted a handful of other moments that deserve credit in past articles, but this one certainly doesn’t take a back seat to any of them. Banners dropped when the counter located on the right field wall of Camden Yards turned over after the game became official in the sixth inning, and Ripken took a lap around the field and received a standing ovation that lasted twenty-two minutes. It’s definitely one of those where were you moments in sports history.
But along the way, not everyone was applauding. Ripken was regularly criticized for putting the streak above the good of his team. These comments were especially prevalent whenever he was mired in a slump, and while they might have been fair, the arguments lacked a grasp of the big picture. Even his own family was not immune to it though. Cal Sr. ended his son’s consecutive innings streak at 8,243 in 1987, pulling Junior during a game and calling the streak a burden. He was undoubtedly right, but such is the cost of greatness. Were the Orioles and Ripken himself always best served by the streak? That’s debatable. Was it a great achievement for baseball? Undoubtedly.
In many other ways, Gwynn and Ripken were extremely different. Gwynn was a picture of consistency in the batter’s box, but Ripken was called the “Man of a Thousand Stances,” because he so frequently tinkered with his batting stance. This was not because he had a penchant for getting in his own head, but rather a testament to his adaptability.
Gwynn was gregarious and talkative, the kind of guy who could have a conversation with anyone. Ripken, on the other hand, was also known as “Silent Cal.” He was reserved and deliberate with his words, a trait that did not serve him well during his brief stint as an announcer after his playing days were over, but it has never hampered his ability to serve as a great ambassador for the game.
Ripken didn’t have Gwynn’s consistency at the plate, but he did possess the pop that so many wished Gwynn had for the Padres. In fact, Ripken was somewhat revolutionary at the shortstop position. He paved the way for the bigger and more offensively proficient shortstops who dominate the game today.
This isn’t to say he was a slouch on defense. Like Gwynn, he was underrated with the glove, and won two Gold Gloves. Just to give you an indication of how unreliable the Gold Glove award is though, Ripken committed only three errors in 1990 and still lost the award to Ozzie Guillen, who had 17.
Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even supposed to be a shortstop. Ripken was mentored by Doug DeCinces to be his replacement at the hot corner in Baltimore, but shortly after taking over the gig in 1982, manager Earl Weaver made the decision to move Ripken to short, and his career took off.
Ripken was a staple at SS in the All-Star Game for the first half of my life. (For the last five years of his career, he moved back to 3B, but SS is where his legend was made.) He made 19 All-Star appearances. 19! He also won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1982, the AL MVP in 1983 and 1991, and won his only World Series ring in 1983. He only made three postseason appearances in his two-decade career (keep in mind that six teams from each league weren’t making the playoffs back then), but he performed well in each opportunity.
Postseason Stats: .336/.411/.455, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 10 Doubles, .866 OPS
Of course, as solid as the postseason numbers are, they don’t do his regular season stats justice. And that is how Ripken will always be judged. Yes, he took Baltimore to the top of the mountain in 1983, and he’ll probably never have to pay for another beer or meal in the city ever again. But what made Ripken so memorable was the production he put up each and every day without fail. Let’s look at the totals from his career and his MVP seasons.
1983: .318/.371/.517, 27 HR, 102 RBI, 47 Doubles (Led AL), .888 OPS, 144 OPS+
1991: .323/.374/.566, 34 HR, 114 RBI, 46 Doubles, .940 OPS, 162 OPS+
And for good measure, let’s throw in 1996, the next-to-last year he played all 162 games and nearly a decade-and-a-half after he won Rookie of the Year and led the O’s to a championship.
1996: .278/.341/.466, 26 HR, 102 RBI, 40 Doubles, .807 OPS, 102 OPS+
The guy was a model of consistency, and ultimately, that’s what he’ll be remembered for, both in Baltimore and the rest of the world. Yes, he collected 3,000 hits and was a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. He won multiple MVP awards, a Rookie of the Year trophy, and numerous other individual accolades. He led the Orioles to their most recent championship.
Heck, in 1991 he even became the first player to win the HR Derby and ASG MVP in the same year. And that was just the tip of the iceberg for his 1991. In addition to becoming only the second player to win an MVP on a team with a losing record, after Andre Dawson did it for the Cubs in 1987, he became the first shortstop in MLB history to hit 30 HR with 200 hits and 40 doubles.
All that was great, but what we’ll always love Ripken for is that he showed up everyday and went to work. Even when things weren’t going well, he was there grinding until he eventually forged the diamonds I just listed. He’s proof that anyone can be the best if they just persevere. And even if that narrative isn’t really true— I mean, let’s face it, the guy was extremely talented in addition to his fierce work ethic— that is how he’ll always be viewed by the masses.
Cal Ripken Jr is more than the iron man of baseball— he’s its eternal everyman.
Thank you for reading Powder Blue Nostalgia. Please feel free to share your thoughts on Cal Ripken Jr. in the comments below. And if you’re a Royals fan, I invite you to check out the work I’ve been doing at Kings of Kauffman. If one-team players aren’t your thing, I have a new piece on the well-traveled Lonnie Smith out this week.
Love it Patrick! Great ball player, showed up everyday and played his heart out. Iron Man is a great name for Cal. ⚾
Thanks for your witty writing...