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
MVP in 1983 and 1991 He even caught the last out when the Orioles won the World Series in 1983 On the night of Septem ber 6 1995 he played in his 2,131st straight game This broke Gehrig’s record When the game became official in the middle of the fifth inning the banner changed to the magic number The fans cheered like never before Ripken came out of the dugout to wave to them But that would not be enough Urged on by teammates Rip ken took a lap around the field at Camden Yards He shook hands and exchanged high fives as he went One person watching in the stands was his father Cal Ripken Sr He had been a pro baseball player coach and manager He had taught Cal Jr how to play Cal Sr had been Cal Jr s coach and even his manager with the Orioles The Streak did not stop that night Ripken ended up playing 2,632 games in a row before he finally sat out a game near the end of the 1998 season By the time he retired after the 2001 season Ripken had lots of other impressive numbers too He set an AL record by mak ing 19 All-Star teams And he became just the seventh major league player ever to get at least 400 home runs along with at least 3,000 hits But most important Rip ken is remembered as baseball’s all-time Iron Man His 2,632 consecutive games just might be an unbreakable record Cal Ripken Jr gets ready to speak to the crowd after the Orioles 4 2 win over the Angels on September 6 1995 Ripken had just broken Lou Gehrig’s record for games played in a row 6 BALTIMORE ORIOLES
