Cal Ripken Becomes Baseball’s Iron Man 4 Brooks Robinson Cleans Up in the Field 6 O’s Pitchers Are Practically Perfect 8 Four Orioles Pitchers Go for 20 10 Pennant Fever Takes Over in Baltimore 12 Earl Weaver Yells and Wins 14 Wild Bill Leads the Roar from 34 16 DeCinces Starts Orioles Magic 18 Tippy Picks Em Off 20 Camden Yards Sets the Standard 22 Jones Is Front and Center 24 Buck Showalter Brings Orioles Back 26 12 Key Dates 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cal Ripken was a 21-year-old rookie when he took the field on May 30 1982 He was hitting 238 and just trying to make it as a major leaguer No one had any idea that he was starting one of the most amazing streaks in sports Ripken played every game the rest of that season And the next one And the next one And 13 more after that Teammates came and went Managers came and went The Orioles even changed stadiums But Ripken played on He played through streaks and slumps He even played through his share of injuries He became known as The Iron Man Ripken hit at least 20 home runs 10 years in a row He was also an excellent fielder He played most of his career at shortstop Ripken studied opposing hitters He learned where they were most likely to hit 4 CAL RIPKEN BECOMES BASEBALL’S IRON MAN Cal Ripken fields a grounder in June 1996 during his 2,215th consecutive game 1
the ball Then he positioned himself to be in the right spot Ripken grew up in Aberdeen Maryland just a long fly ball from Baltimore To Orioles fans he was a hometown hero Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees had played in 2,130 straight games from 1925 to 1939 That record seemed unbreakable Then along came Ripken On September 6 1995 Ripken played in his 2,131st straight game Ripken hit a home run in the game He played every game for two more seasons Simply put I come to the ballpark every day ready to play wanting to play Ripken said If the manager wants me to play then I will That’s the way I’ve always approached it ALL IN THE FAMILY Cal Ripken’s brother Bill played second base for the Orioles for seven seasons Cal’s father Cal Sr spent 37 years in the Orioles organization He was a minor league player and later a scout and coach He was the Orioles manager in 1987 and part of 1988 2,632 Consecutive games Cal Ripken played Ripken won two American League AL Most Valuable Player MVP Awards He was selected to play in 19 All-Star Games He won two Gold Glove awards 5 Cal Ripken waves to the crowd in 1995 after officially playing in his record 2,131st consecutive game
