There is little new ground to break when writing a tribute to Cal Ripken, but in the wake of his election to the baseball Hall-of-Fame I thought a celebration of his accomplishments was warranted.
Of course, Cal's lasting legacy will be The Streak. Through injuries, slumps, bad teams and seemingly hundreds of different batting stances Cal and the streak endured. 2,632 consecutive games played. Amazing. Born out of a belief that a ballplayer should be hard-working and reliable, Cal showed up every day for fourteen years. Many argued, during some prolonged slumps, that Ripken was selfish and should take a day off. I never felt, however, that one day off would help ease a slump. And as Ripken often said, who would the O's plug into the line-up that would be any better? I agree with a radio host who said this week that a fortunate byproduct of the streak was that at every game every fan knew they would get to see Cal play. No one would be dissapointed to arrive at Camden Yards only to see Ripken scrathed from the lineup.
The streak, however incredible it was, should not define Cal Ripken, though. He is far more than a bunch of consecutive games strung together. He revolutioned the shortstop position by showing that a big man could succesfully roam the middle of the diamond. No longer would shortstop be the domain of tiny slick-gloved, no-hit infielders. That's not to say Riken didn't have a great glove. He may not have had tremendous range, but he covered more ground than one would imagine. He also expanded his "range" by using intelligent positioning, then gobbbling up virtually every ball that he could reach. (George Will's book
Men at Work provides great insight into the brain work that Ripken put into each game, setting the infield and sometimes even calling pitches from shortstop.) He likely would have won more than two Gold Gloves had he not shared the position with the acrobatic vacuum cleaner Omar Vizquel.
As a slugger, Ripken's credentials are solid, if unspectacular. One of eight hitters to have 400+ homers and 3000+ hits. His other numbers add to the prestige-two MVP awards, Rookie of the Year, nineteen all-star games, and one World Series ring.
All of these accomplishments really pale in comparison to Cal Ripken's true impact though. He is a true hometown hero who became the face of a franchise and a city. Cal was MVP of the team that led the O's to their last world title. Once Eddie Murray was unfairly run out of town, Ripken became the anchor of the lineup. He was always willing to sign autographs, especially during the run-up to breaking Gehrig's record; this was, of course, the exact time anybody would have forgiven him for scaling back such activities. Instead, Cal would sign every last ball or hat even if it took hours after a game. Finally, his devotion to his hometown team was proven several times when he could have left Baltimore for bigger bucks elsewhere. Each time, he stayed to try to help bring another title to Baltimore. I will always appreciate his loyalty and I view that commitment to the Orioles as his enduring legacy.
