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Ripken Was More Than Just An Iron Man

Published: Jul 29, 2007

Cal Ripken Jr. will forever be known as the Iron Man, a fitting title for the most durable athlete in the rich history of the sport known as America's Pastime.

The nickname captures the perseverance of the former Baltimore Orioles star, who played in 2,632 consecutive games from 1982 to 1998. It would be an injustice, however, to summarize the spectacular 21-year career of Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. solely by The Streak.

In assessing Ripken's effect on baseball, his peers and the fans who cheered for him, there are two words more appropriate than Iron & Man: awe and respect. It wasn't so much that he participated in 2,632 games; it's how he played them.

"You are who you are, and you hope your actions show who you are. But at the same time, I worry about what the kids pick up from the game," Ripken said. "You're representing the game, your team and the organization at the same time, as well as yourself."

Ripken rarely missed infield practice or batting practice. And, of course, he never skipped a game for nearly 17 years.

"I don't think Cal Ripken really conditioned himself to play in 2,632 consecutive games. He conditioned himself to play baseball when the ballclub needed him," former Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey said. "Whether he did it every single day or not, it's insignificant. It's a great statistic to have because it shows how tough he was. But Cal put up the numbers."

Ripken's consecutive games streak may never be broken, but that's not the only record he owns that just might last forever. In 1990, he made only three errors at shortstop in 161 games. Along the way, he set a record at the position with 95 straight errorless games and 428 successive errorless chances.

"Not everybody knows what a good shortstop he really was," said Earl Weaver, Ripken's first manager. "I don't think there's any way that anybody is going to play over 150 games at shortstop and make three errors or less."

Even if he didn't play in 2,632 straight games - shattering the seemingly unbreakable mark of 2,130 set by former Yankees great Lou Gehrig - Ripken would be entering the Hall of Fame.

But, like it or not, he is destined to be remembered solely by The Streak.