Cal Ripken Jr. Plays 1,000th Consecutive Game

On June 25, 1988 Hall of Famer and Baltimore Orioles great, Cal Ripken Jr. plays consecutively for 1,000 games. He would go on to play a total of 2,131 consecutive games breaking the record previously held by Lou Gehrig, in 1995 and in 1998 he would see his consecutive game streak end at 2.632.

To this day Ripken Jr. is still holds the most games played consecutively.

 

Ripken Jr. giving a curtain call farewell to his fans at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Ripken Jr. finished his career with a .276 batting average, 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, 1,078 extra base hits, 603 doubles, 1,129 walks 1,647 runs and 1,695 RBIs in 3,001 games played. All of which are Baltimore Orioles records.

Ripken Jr. was the 1982 American League Rookie of the Year, and was a 19-time All-Star; making the All-Star team in every season he played except for his Rookie campaign. He was the All-Star Game MVP twice in 1991 and 2001, and is still the All-time leader in MLB All-Star fan balloting with 36,123,483 votes. He has the most starts at shortstop for the American League in an All-Star game with 15, and 17 in total with two at third base.

He won the World Series once with the Orioles in 1983, was a two-time Gold Glove winner in 1991 and 1992. He was an eight-time Silver Slugger award, including four straight from 1983-1986. He was a two time American League MVP in 1983 and 1991. Ripken was the 1991 Home Run Derby winner and in 1992 he received the Roberto Clemente and Lou Gehrig Awards.

In 1999 Ripken Jr. was named to Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team. That same yea he was ranked number 78 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

Ripken Jr. had his iconic number eight Baltimore Orioles jersey retired in 2001, that same year he was ranked the third greatest shortstop all-time in The New Bill James Historical Abstract.

He was elected into the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 with 98.53 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared. The third highest for a player ever, and the highest ever for a position player.

"Hit Heard Around The World"

On Oct. 3, 1951 New York Giants Bobby Thomson hits a walk-off home run to win the pennant, defeating their cross-town rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. Thomson’s home run has been named the “Hit heard around the world.”

Despite Thomson’s heroics to win the pennant, the Giants would end up losing the World Series to the New York Yankees in six games.

While best known for his walk-off home run against the Dodgers, Thomson had a great career which saw him play for 15 years with the Giants, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

Over his career Thomson, nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot," was a three-time All-Star, including back-to-back appearances in 1948-1949. Though never an MVP, Thomson was in the MVP conversation three times over the course of his career, with his highest voting for the MVP Award coming in 1951 when he finished eighth. That year he had career highs in home runs with 32, which was the fifth highest total in the MLB that year, and walks with 73. Thomson also had the fourth highest slugging percentage in MLB.

Thomson put up solid numbers over his career including playing in 1,779 games over 15 seasons. Over those 15 seasons, Thomson had 6,305 at-bats with 1,705 hits, consisting of 1,100 singles, 267 doubles, 74 triples and 264 home runs for a .270 lifetime batting average. Thomson also knocked in 1,026 RBIs, scored 903 runs, totaled 38 stolen bases and walked 559 times, while striking out 804 times.

Thomson led the league in triples once, with 14 in 1952. That was also his highest single season total of triples.

Scottish baseball team, the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, named their home "Bobby Thomson Field.” It was opened by the man himself in 2003 while he was in Scotland to be inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.

The UK Chapter of The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is named the Bobby Thomson Chapter.

Murray Blasts 500

On this day in 1996, Eddie Murray hit career home run 500.

Murray was playing with the Baltimore Orioles at the time. Murray's bomb came against the Detroit Tigers. He would play just one more season and end his career with 504 home runs.

Murray was just the fourteenth player to reach the milestone of 500 home runs. 

 There have been 10 players to reach the 500 home run mark after him. Murray is now ranked no. 25 on the all-time list of home run hitters. 

Murray ended his career as an eight time All-Star, including six consecutive selections from 1981-1986. He won all three of his Gold Gloves consecutively from 1982-1984 and won three Silver Slugger awards in 1983, 1984 and 1990.

Murray was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1977 and was part of the Baltimore Orioles team that won the 1983 World Series.

Murray’s career also saw playing time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and Anaheim Angels to go along with his time with the Mets and Orioles.

Murray would finish his career with a .287 batting average, 3,255 hits, 504 home runs, 1,917 RBIs and 1,627 runs scored. He is one of only four players to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. The other three are Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as well as another famous Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro.

His 504 home runs are the most of a player who never hit more than 33 home runs in a season, the second most by a switch hitter to that only of New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle, who hit 536 in his career. They also rank Murray twenty-fifth in all-time home runs.

At the time of his retirement he was tied with Chili Davis for the most games in which he hit a home run from both sides of the plate, 11. In 2011 New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeria broke the record with 12.

A record not shown on the stat book but valuable is that Murray is the record holder for sacrifice flies with 128.

The Baltimore Orioles retired Murray’s jersey number 33 in 1998.

In 1999, Murray ranked Number 77 on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Murray was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 with 85.3 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.

Murray served as the hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2002 to 2005.

On June 14, 2007, Murray was fired as hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, after just months on the job.

In 2012 a Bronze statue of Eddie Murray's left handed hitting stance unveiled at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Ripken Breaks Gehrig's Record

On Sept. 5, 1995, Baltimore Orioles legend and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. played in consecutive game 2,131 for his career, setting a new Major League record. Ripken Jr. was given the nickname “Ironman” for the feat.

After the Angels’ half of the fifth inning, the game was considered official and Cal had broken the record.

Ripken eclipsed the mark that was previously held by Lou Gehrig, whose legendary record of 2,130 consecutive games had stood for 56 years.

Before Gehrig, Everett Scott, who played in 1,307 consecutive games over his career, held the record. Scott was a shortstop with the Red Sox and Yankees whose streak ended in 1925, less than a month before Gehrig's began.

As the moment was announced over the public address system Ripken Jr. did a lap around the stadium, shaking the hands of fans that had watched him play throughout the years.

To make the record breaking game even more memorable, Ripken hit a fourth inning home run off of California Angels starter Shawn Boskie. The home run was later voted as Major League Baseball’s “Most Memorable Moment” of all-time by fans.

Ripken would go on to play in an additional 502 straight games (2,632 total), before voluntarily pulling himself from the line-up in the Orioles final home game of 1998. 

His streak spanned over an incredible 17 years, as it started in May of 1982.

To this day Ripken is still the holder of the most games played consecutively.

A notable recent streak was compiled by Miguel Tejada of the Oakland A's and Baltimore Orioles, who played in 1,152 consecutive games from 2000 to 2007. As of Sept. 3, 2013, the current player with the longest active Major League consecutive games streak is Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers with 475.

Ripken would go on to have a fine career after his consecutive games streak was over playing in six more seasons for the Orioles before his retirement.

During his 21-season career Ripken would earn 19 All-Star appearances, all consecutively from 1983-2001. He would be honored with the All-Star Game MVP twice, in 1991 and 2001. He would earn eight Silver Slugger Awards, including four consecutive awards from 1983-1986. He would earn two Gold Glove Awards in 1991 and 1992. In 1982 Ripken was named the American League Rookie of the Year.

Ripken was also a two-time MVP of the American League in 1983 and 1991. In 1983 Ripken helped the Orioles to win the World Series, Ripken’s only title of his career. Although he was only awarded two MVP awards during his career Ripken was in the conversation for MVP 10 times, being in the top five in voting three times.

In 1991 Ripken won the Home Run Derby Crown at the Skydome in Toronto, the home of the Bluejays. In 1992 Ripken was awarded the Robert Clemente Award, as well the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.

The Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente. Originally known as the Commissioner's Award, it has been presented by the MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.

The Gehrig Award is given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best exhibits the character and integrity of Lou Gehrig, both on the field and off it. The award was created by the Phi Delta Theta fraternity in honor of Gehrig, who was a member of the fraternity at Columbia University. It was first presented in 1955. The award's purpose is to recognize a player's exemplary contributions in "both his community and philanthropy." The bestowal of the award is overseen by the headquarters of the Phi Delta Theta in Oxford, Ohio, and the name of each winner is inscribed onto the Lou Gehrig Award plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It is the only MLB award conferred by a fraternity.

Ripken finished his 21-year career with 3,001 games played a .276 batting average and 3,184 hits consisting of 603 doubles, 44 triples and 431 home runs. He also had 1,695 RBIs, 1,647 runs scored, 1,129 walks, 36 stolen bases and struck out 1,305 times.

Ripken Jr. led the league in runs, hits, and doubles once, all in 1983 when he won his first of two MVP awards and helped the Orioles win the World Series. His run total of 121, hit total of 211 and doubles total of 47 were all single season career highs for Ripken Jr.

Ripken was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. The players were chosen by popular vote of fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball players from the past century. Over two million fans then voted on the players using paper and online ballots.

The Baltimore Orioles retired Ripken’s no. 8 jersey in September of 2001.

In 2007 Ripken Jr. was inducted into Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame with 98.53 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared. Only New York Mets great Tom Seaver 98.84 percent and Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and California Angels great Nolan Ryan 98.79 topped Ripken Jr. for the percentage of votes cast to be inducted into Cooperstown.