Shortstop/Third Baseman, Baltimore Orioles
Age: 22 (Aug. 24)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 200
Prior to 1982:
The son and
namesake of a former catching prospect for the Orioles who went on to become a
minor league manager and coach in the organization, Ripken was a Maryland
native and regularly attended Orioles home games once his father became part of
the coaching staff. He played soccer as well as baseball at Aberdeen High
School. He proved to be a standout as a pitcher and shortstop, batting .496 as
a senior as well as posting a 7-2 pitching record for a squad that won the
Maryland state championship. Ripken was chosen by the Orioles in the second
round of the 1978 amateur draft. While there was interest in developing his
pitching talent, Ripken started out professionally as a shortstop with
Bluefield of the Rookie-level Appalachian League where he hit .264 in 63 games.
He spent 1979 with teams at the Class A and AA level, batting a combined .286
with 8 home runs and 62 RBIs. With Charlotte of the Class AA Southern League,
which had been his second stop in ’79, Ripken hit .276 in 1980 with 25 home
runs and 78 RBIs. Assigned to the Rochester Red Wings of the Class AAA
International League in 1981, he batted .288 with 23 home runs and 75 RBIs and
was the league’s All-Star third baseman. Ripken received a late-season call-up
to the Orioles where he hit only .128 in 39 at bats. The Orioles still dealt
veteran third baseman Doug DeCinces in the offseason to make room for Ripken in
1982, and despite a slow start he remained in the lineup and was shifted to
shortstop in July.
1982 Season Summary
Appeared in 160
games
SS – 94, 3B – 70,
PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 655
At Bats – 598 [13]
Runs – 90 [16,
tied with Andre Thornton & Tony Bernazard]
Hits – 158
Doubles – 32 [13,
tied with Damaso Garcia & George Brett]
Triples – 5
Home Runs – 28 [12,
tied with Gary Ward, Brian Downing & Tony Armas]
RBI – 93 [18,
tied with Don Baylor]
Bases on Balls
– 46
Int. BB – 3
Strikeouts – 95
[17, tied with Harold Baines & Todd Cruz]
Stolen Bases – 3
Caught Stealing
– 3
Average - .264
OBP - .317
Slugging Pct. -
.475
Total Bases – 284
[16]
GDP – 16
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 6
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 11, RBI – 46, AVG - .269, SLG – .471
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 5 AB) at Texas 8/22
Longest hitting
streak – 11 games
Most HR, game –
1 on 28 occasions
HR at home – 11
HR on road – 17
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Cleveland 6/21, vs. NY Yankees 9/14
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding (SS)
Chances – 457
Put Outs – 155
Assists – 289
Errors – 13
DP - 47
Pct. - .972
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
30th
in AL MVP voting, tied with Buddy Bell, Tex. (3 points, 1% share)
AL ROY Voting
(Top 5):
Cal Ripken,
Balt.: 132 pts. – 24 of 28 first place votes, 94% share
Kent Hrbek, Min.:
90 pts. –4 first place votes, 64% share
Wade Boggs, Bos.:
10 pts. – 7% share
Ed Vande Berg,
Sea.: 9 pts. – 6% share
Gary Gaetti,
Min.: 4 pts. – 3% share
---
Orioles went 94-68
to finish second in the AL Eastern Division, one game behind the division-winning
Milwaukee Brewers. The Orioles pursued the Brewers throughout the second half
of the season, coming back from a 7.5-game deficit to tie Milwaukee on the
season’s next-to-last day. At home and facing the Brewers, who they had
defeated in five straight games, in the season finale, they lost 10-2.
Aftermath of ‘82:
Ripken followed
up with an AL MVP season in 1983 as the Orioles topped the AL East and went on
to capture the World Series. The young shortstop led the league in hits (211),
runs scored (121), and doubles (47) while also batting .318 with 27 home runs
and 102 RBIs. Taller and heavier than most shortstops, Ripken was also agile
with quick reflexes and a good throwing arm and led AL shortstops in total
chances (831), assists (534), and double plays (113) while playing every inning
of the season at the position. He followed up with another strong season for a
less-accomplished Orioles club in 1984, hitting .304 with 27 home runs and 86
RBIs. He remained a steady presence at shortstop. The high-scoring Orioles
finished fourth in 1985 while Ripken contributed 26 home runs, 110 RBIs, a .282
batting average, and a .347 on-base percentage. In 1986 he compiled 25 home
runs, 81 RBIs, and a .282 average while leading AL shortstops with 482 assists
and committing only 13 errors. In 1987 Ripken’s father, Cal Sr. took over as
manager of the fading Orioles. In July he was joined by his brother Billy, who
took over as the starting second baseman and played well alongside his older
sibling. Additionally, in September, manager Ripken pulled shortstop Ripken
late in a hopeless game, thus ending Ripken’s consecutive innings streak at
8264 while the consecutive games streak stayed alive, reaching 925 by season’s end.
For the year Ripken’s average dropped to .252 with 27 home runs and 98 RBIs. When
the 1988 season started off with six losses, Cal Sr. was fired as manager, much
to the distress of his two ballplayer sons. The losing streak extended to 21
under their father’s successor, Frank Robinson, on the way to a last place
finish. Cal Jr. batted .264 with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. The Orioles bounced
back with a strong second place finish in 1989 and Ripken contributed 21 home
runs, 93 RBIs, and a .257 batting average in addition to leading AL shortstops
in total chances (815), put outs (276), assists (531) and DPs (119). In 1990 he
posted a record .996 fielding average at shortstop as he committed only three
errors in 680 total chances. At bat he hit .250 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs. His
hitting improved in 1991 to .323 with 34 home runs and 114 RBIs while in the
field he won his first Gold Glove. He ended up receiving his second league MVP
award and a Silver Slugger. The Orioles moved to a new stadium at Camden Yards
in 1992 but Ripken’s batting dropped to .251 with 14 home runs and 72 RBIs. He
remained a Gold Glove performer in the field. A sprained knee put his
consecutive game streak at risk in 1993 but he played through the injury and
hit .257 with 24 home runs and 90 RBIs while still performing well in the
field. In the strike-shortened 1994 season Ripken’s average rose to .315 with
13 home runs and 75 RBIs. The focus in 1995 was the pursuit of Gehrig’s
consecutive game record which he surpassed by playing in his 2131st straight
game on September 6. It was a much-needed bright spot at a time in which labor
issues were significantly denting baseball’s popularity. For the year,
Ripken.batted. 262 with 17 home runs and 88 RBIs. The streak continued into
1996 as Ripken passed Japan’s Sachio Kinugasa, who held the world record of
2215 consecutive games played. He was also briefly shifted to third base in
1997. Dealing with back problems he hit .278 with 26 home runs and 102 RBIs. The
move to third base became full-time in 1997, a year in which he batted .270
with 17 home runs and 84 RBIs while still appearing in every game and
committing just eight errors at third base. The consecutive game streak finally
came to an end at Ripken’s request in September of 1998, having reached a total
of 2632. His batting production dropped to .271 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs.
He played three more seasons until retiring in 2001. For his major league
career, spent entirely with the Orioles, Ripken, over the course of 3001 games,
batted .276 with 3184 hits that included 603 doubles, 44 triples, and 431 home
runs. He further scored 1647 runs and compiled 1695 RBIs and a .340 on-base
percentage. Appearing in 28 postseason games, he hit .336 with one home run and
8 RBIs. A 19-time All-Star, Ripken was also a two-time MVP and Gold Glove
recipient. The Orioles retired his #8 and he was inducted into the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 2007. The consecutive game streak stands as a testament to
Ripken’s dedication and consistency. He remained involved in philanthropic
activities following his retirement, as well as youth baseball activities. He
also owns a minor league team that is affiliated with the Orioles, the Aberdeen
IronBirds. His brother Billy remained his teammate until 1992, and again in
1996, on his way to a twelve-year career that ended in 1998.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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