Cal Ripken, Jr.

Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), best known as Cal Ripken, Jr. is an American baseball player born in Havre De Grace, Maryland.

He was a shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles who played between 1981 and 2001. He was known as the iron man of baseball, playing 2,632 straight games spanning fifteen seasons without missing a single game (May 30, 1982 - September 20, 2000). Cal Ripken retired on October 6, 2001 and built a new stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland, where he played baseball as a boy. He is a part owner of the Aberdeen Firebirds[?], a minor league baseball team associated with the Orioles. Ripken has also made generous donations to charity causes, including many donations supporting research on Lou Gehrig's disease.

Awards and records

• 1982: American League Rookie of the Year
• 1983: American League MVP[?]
• 1991: American League MVP
• 1991: Gold Glove[?] award for shortstop
• 1992: Gold Glove award for shortstop
• 2001: All-Star Game MVP
• Most consecutive games played at 2,632