www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher SportsZone is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 052014 092014 Editor Matt Tustison Copy Editor Nicholas Cafarelli Interior Design and Production Christa Schneider Cover Design Christa Schneider Photo Credits Gail Burton AP Images cover Tom Olmscheid AP Images 1 Roberto Borea AP Images 4 32 43 middle 47 Denis Paquin AP Images 7 AP Images 8 11 13 14 16 20 22 25 42 top middle bottom 43 top Bob Daugherty AP Images 19 Ron Frehm AP Images 26 Mark Duncan AP Images 28 Ted Mathias AP Images 31 Mark Lennihan AP Images 35 43 bottom Nick Wass AP Images 36 Charles Krupa AP Images 39 Charles Rex Arbogast AP Images 41 Dave Hammond AP Images 44 Library of Congress Control Number 2014932908 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Frager Ray Baltimore Orioles by Ray Frager p cm Inside MLB Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-62403-462-6 1 Baltimore Orioles Baseball team History Juvenile literature I Title GV875 B2F73 2015 796 357'640975271 dc23 2014932908
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 The Iron Man 4 Chapter 2 Return to the Majors 8 Chapter 3 Breakthrough 14 Chapter 4 Seasons of Glory 20 Chapter 5 The Magic Is Gone 26 Chapter 6 Brief Comeback 32 Chapter 7 Waiting to Win Again 36 Timeline 42 Quick Stats 44 Quotes and Anecdotes 45 Glossary 46 For More Information 47 Index 48 About the Author 48
CHAPTER 1 THE IRON MAN
D uring the Baltimore Orioles 1995 sea son the most important number was a countdown Fans followed this more than the team’s win total or any player’s number of home runs And actually the countdown was a count-up There was a banner hung on the side of the B O ware house way past the right-field wall at Oriole Park at Camden Yards The banner was keep ing track of how many games in a row the Orioles All-Star shortstop Cal Ripken Jr had played During each home game the number would change Fans would have another reason to cheer Ripken was on his way to breaking one of baseball’s most unbreakable records the 2,130 games in a row played by New York Yankees Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig Ripken did more than just show up for work every day He won the American League AL Rookie of the Year Award in 1982 He was named the league’s Most Valuable Player Cal Ripken Jr tips his hat to the crowd in Baltimore on September 6 Cal Ripken Jr tips his hat to the crowd in Baltimore on September 6 1995 after his record 2,131st consecutive game played became official 1995 after his record 2,131st consecutive game played became official THE IRON MAN 5
