Cal Ripken Jr., the star of the Baltimore Orioles, took the place of the late Lou Gehrig as MLB’s Iron Man on a historic night at Camden Yards in Baltimore. He did not, however, intend to stop there. Ripken played 2,632 straight games from May 30, 1982, to Sept. 19, 1998, before quitting. Since Ripken’s record came to an end, only Miguel Tejada’s 1,152-game Iron Man streak from June 2, 2000, to June 21, 2007, has even reached 1,000 games.
“Cal Ripken Jr. Two MVPs. 19 All-Star games. Eight Silver sluggers. 3,184 hits. 431 homers. Two Gold Gloves, made three errors in 1,406 innings played in 1990. Ironman.” – Kurkjian_ESPN
The previous record of 5,152 innings was held by infielder George Pinkney in the 19th century. Early in the run, Cal Ripken Jr. played 8,243 consecutive innings, breaking that mark. From June 5, 1982, until September 14, 1987, when he was replaced by a defensive replacement, Ripken played every inning of the streak.
Cal Ripken Jr. was the Major League’s real Ironman
Brady Anderson (1,283) played the most games of anyone outside Ripken in a fielding position during the streak, as Ripken shared the field with 150 Orioles position players (excluding the DH position).
Over the course of the run, he alternated between playing shortstop and third base. 781 other players participated in at least one game throughout that time at third base or shortstop. Gary Gaetti had the most at third base (2,147), while Ripken had the most at shortstop (2,289). With 1,884 games played at shortstop, Ozzie Smith ranked second.
Of course, Cal played the most Major League games during that time period, with 2,632 games played between May 30, 1982, and Sept. 19, 1998. Wade Boggs played 2,335 games over that time period, making him the second-most active player. The gap between No. 1 and No. 2 on the list—297 games—is quite significant.
“Happy 27th Anniversary to Cal Ripken, Jr. and his history-making streak playing 2,131 consecutive games of baseball!” – IronBirds
Ripken faced 19 different teams during his historic run in the major leagues. The Yankees were the Orioles’ most frequent opponent during that time (215 games). He faced five National League teams in the last two years of the run, including the Mets, Expos, Phillies, Marlins, and Braves, thanks to the advent of Interleague Play in 1997.
In that time, he faced 526 starting pitchers, with Mike Moore (35 starts) being his most common enemy.
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