Cal Ripken, Jr.

TURNER SPORTS

Cal Ripken, Jr. is in his first year with Turner Sports. He will serve as the TBS studio analyst for its exclusive coverage of the MLB Playoffs including all MLB Division Series playoffs, which includes the Division Series and the National League Championship Series.

CAREER

Nineteen-time MLB All-S tar Cal Ripken, Jr. is one of the newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, having been inducted, along with Tony Gwynn, on July 29, 2007. Ripken received the highest percentage of votes ever for a position player.
Ripken, known as the “Iron Man”, broke Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played (2,130) in 1995. He voluntarily ended his streak in 1998 after playing 2,632 consecutive games.
The only team Ripken ever played for, the Baltimore Orioles, retired his uniform number in 2001.
Ripken won numerous awards throughout his playing career, including 1982 American League Rookie of the Year, two-time Most Valuable Player (1983, 1991), eight-time Silver Slugger Award winner (1983-86, 1989, 1991, 1993-94) and two-time AL Gold Glover (1991-92).
A member of the 3,000-hit club, Ripken reached the milestone on April 15, 2000 season when he singled off Hector Carrasco in a game against the Minnesota Twins.
In 1995, Ripken was named Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" and was elected to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999.
Ripken holds the MLB records for most MLB All-Star Game appearances at shortstop (1983-1996, 2001) and most consecutive MLB All-Star Game starts (16). On two occasions, Ripken was named All-Star Game MVP (1991, 2001).

PERSONAL

In 2001, Ripken established the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, in memory of his father. The Foundation helps teach life lessons through baseball to disadvantaged youth from all over the country and gives them a life-changing experience.
In an effort to share their teaching philosophy with coaches and parents everywhere, Cal teamed up with his brother, Bill Ripken, to release their first instructional book, Play Baseball The Ripken Way.
In March of 2005, he signed with Gotham Books to produce three additional books that will expand on his approach to sports and everyday life.
In 1999, Babe Ruth League, Inc. changed the name of its largest division (5-12 year-olds) from Bambino to Cal Ripken Baseball. Currently, over 700,000 youths play Cal Ripken Baseball worldwide.
Ripken resides in Maryland with his wife, Kelly, and their children, Rachel and Ryan.