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
Third baseman Brooks Robinson bounced on the balls of his feet his glove ready The grounder was smashed down the line Robinson lunged far to his right He snagged the ball in his glove Then from behind third base he heaved a throw across the diamond right to the first baseman Out yelled the umpire Robinson made play after play like that in his career He gobbled up so many grounders he became known as the human vacuum cleaner Robinson won 16 Gold Glove awards in his career That award goes to the best fielder at each position in each league Through 2014 no other third baseman had won more than 10 There is a statue of Robinson outside the Orioles stadium Robinson’s glove is painted gold Robinson was at his best in the 1970 World Series The Orioles played the Cincinnati Reds He batted 429 and hit two home runs In the field he made many diving plays He caught scorching line drives and gobbled up wicked bouncers The Orioles won the title four games to one Robinson was named the World Series MVP I played 23 seasons and I never did have five games in a row like I did in that World Series he said 18 All-Star Games Brooks Robinson played in during his career Robinson joined the Orioles at age 18 He played in Baltimore for 23 years from 1955 to 1977 He won the 1964 AL MVP Award Robinson had a career batting average of 267 6 BROOKS ROBINSON CLEANS UP IN THE FIELD 2
Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson makes a diving stop against the New York Yankees in a 1967 game 7
