While the numbers on the business side were somber, Major League Baseball was still able to skate by in 1995 due to a few lucky breaks. The first person that baseball needed to give thanks to was Cal Ripken Jr., who, because of his consecutive-game streak, practically kept the game alive on his own. As mentioned at an earlier point in the story, it was in September of ’95 when Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s 2,130-consecutive-games record. This pursuit alone, having begun back in 1982, was of national interest at the time and was, by year’s end, arguably the biggest story in all of sports. Sure, Michael Jordan returning to the NBA in March after his brief time in baseball was special, but he and the Bulls came up short in the playoffs in a series loss to Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic team, so that occurrence, while a fascinating one, didn’t come with the storybook ending like Cal’s did. In addition, Mike Tyson’s return to the ring in late ’95 following a three-year prison stint captivated sports enthusiasts, especially with how ‘Iron Mike’ eviscerated both Peter McNeeley and Buster Mathis Jr., but even his comeback didn’t compare to what Ripken had done. The whole situation was almost too good to be true. The type of script that even the most renowned screenwriters would have a hard time coming up with. Let’s start with whose mark it was that Ripken was breaking. Had it been Joe Schmoe’s record from back in the day, it’s quite possible that the amount of attention and praise that Ripken received as he inched closer and closer to eclipsing it would have been a fraction of the size that he ended up welcoming. Thanks to the baseball gods, it was Laruppin’ Lou who played in 2,130 straight ballgames. An unbroken chain of events that started on June 2, 1925, when Gehrig pinch-hit for Paul Wanninger in the 8th inning of a contest with the great Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators on the mound. During the illustrious run, thanks in large part to Gehrig’s sweet play, the Yankees had an overall winning percentage of .625. From an individual standpoint, after finishing the 1925 season with a batting average of .295, Gehrig would go on to hit .300 or better for 12 straight seasons. He collected at least 200 hits, 40 home runs, and 150 RBI in five of those years. No other player in the history of the sport has done that for more than two seasons. Immortals of the game like Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, and Joe DiMaggio all did it once during their distinguished careers. Again, Gehrig did it 5 times.
Within this referenced span of years (1925-1939), New York won 100 or more games in a season five times, including the magical year in 1927, when the team won 110 games. That season in particular, while playing on a team cited by most as the greatest baseball club of all time, Gehrig hit an astounding .373, with 47 home runs and a league-best 173 RBI. He was named the AL MVP in a landslide vote. To cap off their illustrious season, New York swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0, in the 1927 World Series. During the Fall Classic, Gehrig hit .308 and led all contestants in doubles and triples. Performing at a high rate when the lights were brightest was what Gehrig did best. During his streak, he appeared in 34 World Series games. In those contests, Gehrig hit .361, with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. He and the Yankees won 7 World Series Championships during this stretch, including in 1939, though Gehrig did not play due to his health concerns. Though he wouldn’t be diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) until June 1939, Gehrig had been battling symptoms related to the terminal disease dating back to 1938. As we know, when Gehrig’s streak ended, so too did his MLB career. Just two years later, 17 days before his 38th birthday, he lost his battle to the fatal neurological disorder that is now often referred to as ‘Lou Gehrig’s disease.’ Though his statistics are out of this world, the way Gehrig carried himself from start to finish in the public light is the reason why he’s so cherished among not just baseball fans, but Americans from all walks. He was a humble, modest man who, even in the face of death, appreciated life like no other.
A lot of the characteristics that made Gehrig an American hero were traits that Cal Ripken Jr. also possessed. Like Lou, Cal was somewhat of a ‘silent warrior,’ a down-to-earth ballplayer admired by all those around. Oftentimes at the stadium, following the end of a contest, Ripken, with the lights bedimmed, would hang around the field for an extra hour to sign autographs for those who came to watch him perform. Alongside their corresponding qualities, both Gehrig and Ripken Jr. wound up playing at the professional level while representing teams in the state that they grew up in. Gehrig was born in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, and Ripken was raised in Aberdeen, Maryland, a city that’s just 26 miles northeast of Baltimore. What made their alliance with their local ballclub even more special was the fact that they never played for another team during their lengthy careers. Gehrig played all 17 years with the Yankees, and by the time Ripken retired, he had put in 21 years of work for the O’s, placing him in rare company with legends like Carl Yastrzemski, Brooks Robinson, Al Kaline, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, and Ty Cobb as players to play at least 20 years with the same organization.
Though the choice to pursue baseball was the right one for both all-timers, had they gone another direction in athletics, it’s quite possible that the two still would have made names for themselves. Gehrig was a standout football player during his time at Columbia University, and Ripken shined on the soccer field at Aberdeen High School. By taking their talents to the diamond, persevering through the ups and downs that come with the profession, both ballplayers cemented their names at or near the top of their position when it comes to the best of the best. While there are a mix of other players who deserve to have their names said in the conversation, when it comes to the greatest first baseman of all time, it’s hard to pick anyone other than Gehrig. Aside from the stats mentioned, Gehrig has the highest career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and OPS among qualified first basemen. In Ripken’s case at shortstop, while it’s hard to overlook Honus Wagner’s output at the pivotal position stationed between second and third, Ripken did hit more home runs while playing shortstop (345) than anyone else in baseball history. He’s also tied with Ernie Banks for most MVP awards (2) at the position. In defense of Wagner, the MVP award, as we all know it, didn’t exist while he played. The league did introduce an MVP-type honor, known as the Chalmers Award in 1911, but by that time, Wagner was already past his mid-30s. Though ‘The Flying Dutchman,’ despite his age, did almost win the award in its inaugural year in 1911, placing 3rd, and then wound up finishing runner-up in 1912. No matter what, when it comes to debating the greatest shortstop that ever lived, putting Wagner aside, Ripken has arguably the strongest case for the title, which made the consecutive-games record that much more intriguing.
On the day that he broke the streak, both President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were in attendance for the eventful game, watching from one of the box suites at Camden Yards. Also at the park was 80-year-old Joe DiMaggio, who sat with Orioles legend Frank Robinson. For DiMaggio, the moment was bittersweet, as he had played with Gehrig early on in his career, as Lou was nearing the end of his baseball journey. “It just goes to prove the greatest records are made to be broken,” said DiMaggio. “Wherever Lou is today, I’m sure he’s tipping his cap to you, Cal.” While it’s true that records are made to be broken, DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak, set the year Lou died, is one that may very well live on until the sun explodes, and even then, will exist forever in eternity.
Once the game became ‘official’ in the middle of the 5th inning, the contest was delayed for 22 minutes and 15 seconds so that the baseball world could celebrate Cal and his mighty achievement. During the interval, the ‘2,130’ mark of consecutive games that Ripken had played in, which had been featured on the iconic warehouse wall at Camden Yards leading up to the event, updated to its new record-shattering number, and as expected, the place, a sellout crowd of 46,272, went bananas. The Orioles, the opposing California Angels, and those umpiring the game all took the time to clap along with the fans in recognition of the historical moment. After taking eight curtain calls, Ripken ran around the stadium and shook hands with those seated along the rim of the playing field. At the plate that night, Ripken went 2-for-4, with a home run in the 4th inning. It was an iconic moment for the sport, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Because of the record’s historical significance in the world of baseball, coupled with the fact that it had existed for more than half a century without anyone rivaling it, Ripken was named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year in 1995, as he earned 192 of the possible 331 first-place votes. While there once was a time in the prestigious award’s history where it was almost inevitable that an MLB player would earn the honor, as a ballplayer won the award 11 times from 1954-69, prior to Cal, only two MLB players, Dwight Gooden (1985) and Orel Hershiser (1988), had won it over the last 15 years. After San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana won it back-to-back years in 1989 and 1990, and Chicago Bulls immortal Michael Jordan three-peated (1991-1993), it seemed like the voters had moved on from recognizing those excelling on the diamond. Yet what Cal did was far too impressive to be brushed aside.
While the O’s ended up missing out on the playoffs, because of the streak, plus the fact that they had some other exciting players, but mostly because of the streak, Baltimore finished first in the American League in attendance. In a year with meager crowds all around, Ripken served as somewhat of a lone savior for the sport, though there were other happenings that played out in the league’s favor.