Shortstop, Baltimore
Orioles
Age: 31 (Aug. 24)
10th
season with Orioles
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 200
Prior to 1991:
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 levels, 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. The result was a fine season in which he batted .264 with 28
home runs and 93 RBIs. He received AL Rookie of the Year honors. Ripken
followed up with an 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. Ripken followed up with another strong season for a
less-accomplished Orioles club in 1984, hitting .304 with 27 home runs and 86
RBIs. Taller and heavier than most shortstops, Ripken was also agile with quick
reflexes and a good throwing arm. He remained a steady presence at the
position. 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 record 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.
1991 Season Summary
Appeared in 162
games
SS – 162
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 717 [5]
At Bats – 650 [4]
Runs – 99 [11]
Hits – 210 [2]
Doubles – 46 [2]
Triples – 5
[20, tied with four others]
Home Runs – 34 [3]
RBI – 114 [4]
Bases on Balls
– 53
Int. BB – 15
[5]
Strikeouts – 46
Stolen Bases – 6
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .323 [6]
OBP - .374 [16,
tied with Jack Clark]
Slugging Pct. -
.566 [2]
Total Bases – 368
[1]
GDP – 19 [11,
tied with Edgar Martinez, Carlton Fisk & Dave Valle]
Hit by Pitches
– 5
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 9
[3, tied with eight others]
League-leading total
bases were +32 ahead of runner-up Rafael Palmeiro
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 21, HR – 18, RBI – 54, AVG - .348, SLG - .596
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Texas 4/13, (in 6 AB) at KC Royals 6/23 – 10 innings, (in 5
AB) at Detroit 9/29
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 5 AB) at Texas 4/13, (in 5 AB) at Detroit 9/29
HR at home – 16
HR on road – 18
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 7 at Texas 4/13
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 806
Put Outs – 267
Assists – 528
Errors – 11
DP - 114
Pct. - .986
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star
(Started for AL at SS)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Cal Ripken Jr.,
Balt.: 318 points – 15 of 28 first place votes, 81% share
Cecil Fielder,
Det.: 286 points – 9 first place votes, 73% share
Frank Thomas,
ChiWS.: 181 points – 1 first place vote, 46% share
Jose Canseco,
Oak.: 145 points – 37% share
Joe Carter, Tor.:
136 points – 1 first place vote, 35% share
(2
first place votes for Roberto Alomar, Tor., who ranked sixth)
---
Orioles went
67-95 to finish sixth in the AL Eastern Division, 24 games behind the
division-winning Toronto Blue Jays. A 6-14 stretch in April into May dropped the
Orioles into the AL East cellar. Manager Frank Robinson was replaced by John
Oates on May 23 which yielded no immediate improvement, but a 14-14 June gave
the club it’s only non-losing month on the way to a sixth-place finish.
Aftermath of ‘91:
The Orioles moved to a new stadium at Camden Yards in 1992 and 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 Lou 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.
---
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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