RIPKEN'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT THE STREAK SERVED AS A BACKDROP TO 14 YEARS OF OUTSTANDING MAJOR LEAGUE ACHIEVEMENT

IN THE course of redefining what it means to be an every-day
player, Cal Ripken Jr. has become largely associated with what
is known simply as the streak--or, in homage to his capital
achievement, the Streak.

It is, after all, a proper name. Ripken's consecutive-game
record is so huge, it has been in existence longer than the
compact disc. It is so huge that the major league careers of
such players as Sid Bream, Kelly Gruber, Kevin McReynolds and
John Kruk have come and gone since the Streak began in 1982.

Alas, the Streak has eclipsed Ripken's other milestones as well.
He is a man of many streaks, even if the rest of them are given
lower-case treatment. During the Streak, Ripken also set records
for most consecutive years as an All-Star Game starter (13 and
counting), most consecutive innings played (8,243) and most
consecutive errorless games and chances by a shortstop (95 and
431, respectively, in 1990).

Ripken's staggering run of consecutive innings began on June 5,
1982, six days after the start of the Streak. No matter the
score, the hour, the weather or the team's mathematical
elimination from playoff contention--nothing deterred Ripken
from playing every inning for more than five years.

That inning streak lasted until Sept. 14, 1987, when his father,
Cal Sr., who was then the Oriole manager, took him out in the
eighth inning of an 18-3 loss in Toronto. The Baltimore front
office had leaned on Cal Sr. to give Cal Jr., who had batted
.225 over his previous 109 games, a break.

In 1990 Ripken was flawless afield for 95 straight games, a run
that had appeared to end at 67 when he was charged with an error
for failing to catch a throw from outfielder Mike Devereaux. The
official scorer, Bill Stetka, changed his call the next day
after consulting with several players and coaches. He gave the
error to Devereaux. "I wouldn't have lost any sleep about it
either way," said Ripken. The string of errorless games and
chances officially ran out when Ripken muffed a ground ball on
July 28, 1990.

Between Aug. 5, 1989, and May 5, 1991--less than two years'
time--Ripken ran off errorless streaks of 47, 95, 30 and 53
games. In one stretch of 180 games he committed two errors.

Yes, the Streak you know about. But there is so much more to
marvel at. In addition to hitting more home runs than any other
shortstop in history, Ripken is the only shortstop ever to hit
at least 20 home runs in each of his first 10 seasons. He has
accumulated more assists and more total bases in a season than
any other American League shortstop.... The list, like Ripken,
goes on and on.

--Tom Verducci

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO [Cal Ripken Jr. running]

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: AL TIELEMANS (2) [Cal Ripken Jr. catching; Cal Ripken Jr. batting]

COLOR PHOTO: RONALD C. MODRA (2) UP FRONT: FIVE TIMES CAL JR. HAS BEEN AN SI COVER BOY MARCH 9, 1987 [Cal Ripken Jr. on Cover of Sports Illustrated]

COLOR PHOTO: RONALD C. MODRA (2) [See caption above] JULY 29, 1991 [Cal Ripken Jr. on Cover of Sports Illustrated]

COLOR PHOTO: WALTER IOOSS JR. (2) [See caption above] MAY 1, 1995 [Cal Ripken Jr. on Cover of Sports Illustrated]

COLOR PHOTO: WALTER IOOSS JR. (2) [See caption above] AUG. 7, 1995 [Cal Ripken Jr. on Cover of Sports Illustrated]

COLOR PHOTO: C.F. PAYNE [See caption above] SEPT. 11, 1995 [Cal Ripken Jr. on Cover of Sports Illustrated]

RIPKEN'S MAJOR LEAGUE RECORDS...

Most consecutive games played: 2,131 (through Sept. 6, 1995)
Most consecutive games at one position: 2,105 (through Sept. 6,
1995)
Most consecutive games at shortstop: 2,105 (through Sept. 6, 1995)
Most years leading the league in games: 10
Most years leading the league in games at shortstop: 10
Most consecutive innings played: 8,243 (June 5, 1982, through
Sept. 14, 1987)
Most consecutive errorless games at shortstop: 95 (1990)
Most consecutive chances without an error at shortstop: 431 (1990)
Fewest errors in a season by a shortstop (150 or more games): 3
(1990)
Highest fielding percentage in a season by a shortstop: .996
(1990)
Most years leading shortstops in putouts: 6 (tie)
Most years leading the league in double plays: 7
Most home runs by a shortstop: 317 (through Sept. 6, 1995)
Only player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in
back-to-back years: 1982 and '83
Most consecutive years as an All-Star Game starter: 13

... AND HIS AMERICAN LEAGUE MARKS

Most consecutive years playing 150 or more games: 12
Most total bases in a season by a shortstop: 368 (1991)
Most assists in a season: 583 (1984)
Most years leading shortstops in assists: 7 (tie)
Only player on a sub-.500 team to be voted MVP: 1991
Most All-Star Games as a shortstop: 13

THE BOTTOM LINES

Here is how Ripken's stats compare with Gehrig's during their
respective consecutive-game streaks.

RIPKEN GEHRIG
Games 2,130 2,130
Games started 2,130 2,128
Innings 19,222 N/A
Plate appearances 9,327 9,593
At bats 8,303 7,940
Runs 1,243 1,877
Hits 2,310 2,700
Total bases 3,788 5,027
Extra-base hits 796 1,181
Doubles 435 527
Triples 40 162
Home runs 321 492
Grand slams 4 23
RBIs 1,230 1,981
Sacrifice hits 95 105
Hit by pitch 44 46
Bases on balls 885 1,502
Strikeouts 844 777
Stolen bases 34 102
Caught stealing 29 101
Batting average .278 .340
Slugging percentage .456 .633
On-base percentage .347 .448

Source: Elias Sports Bureau

THE LONG LIST AT SHORT

Here are the 524 shortstops who started for the 27 other major
league teams while Ripken was starting 2,105 consecutive games
at that position for the Orioles, from July 1, 1982, through
Sept. 6, 1995. Ripken's record run of 2,131 consecutive games
began on May 30, 1982, but he played third base the first 27
games of the Streak. (Players are listed with the number of
starts they made for their team.)

ATLANTA BRAVES (11 players)
Jeff Blauser 645
Rafael Ramirez 616
Andres Thomas 516
Rafael Belliard 245
Paul Zuvella 32
Jerry Royster 27
Paul Runge 12
Alex Infante 3
Ed Romero 2
Victor Rosario 2
Vinny Castilla 1

BOSTON RED SOX (17)
Luis Rivera 425
John Valentin 389
Glenn Hoffman 329
Spike Owen 239
Jackie Gutierrez 225
Jody Reed 200
Ed Romero 81
Tim Naehring 67
Rey Quinones 60
Dave Stapleton 25
Carlos Rodriguez 24
Mike Brumley 18
Ed Jurak 16
Juan Bell 5
Terry Shumpert 2
Jeff Richardson 1
Julio Valdez 1

CALIFORNIA ANGELS (24)
Dick Schofield 1,015
Gary DiSarcina 500
Tim Foli 144
Kent Anderson 93
Rick Burleson 58
Donnie Hill 41
Gus Polidor 40
Rod Correia 38
Craig Gerber 30
Rob Picciolo 27
Ricky Adams 26
Damion Easley 26
Steve Lubratich 18
Mick Kelleher 11
Glenn Hoffman 10
Spike Owen 10
Mark McLemore 6
Rene Gonzales 3
Luis Sojo 3
Kurt Stillwell 3
Jim Walewander 2
Doug DeCinces 1
Jack Howell 1
Rob Wilfong 1

CHICAGO CUBS (20)
Shawon Dunston 1,079
Larry Bowa 391
Rey Sanchez 173
Jose Vizcaino 142
Chris Speier 42
Domingo Ramos 38
Mike Brumley 30
Dave Owen 30
Tom Veryzer 30
Jose Hernandez 29
Alex Arias 28
Luis Quinones 20
Paul Noce 18
Angel Salazar 13
Junior Kennedy 12
Luis Salazar 8
Scott Fletcher 6
Greg Smith 6
Jeff Kunkel 1
Manny Trillo 1

CHICAGO WHITE SOX (15)
Ozzie Guillen 1,358
Scott Fletcher 243
Craig Grebeck 178
Jerry Dybzinski 119
Vance Law 71
Esteban Beltre 33
Dale Sveum 33
Fred Manrique 24
Bill Almon 18
Wayne Tolleson 10
Norberto Martin 9
Joey Cora 5
Brian Giles 1
Bryan Little 1
Jeff Schaefer 1

CINCINNATI REDS (19)
Barry Larkin 1,111
Dave Concepcion 509
Kurt Stillwell 110
Tom Foley 101
Mariano Duncan 68
Jeff Branson 55
Freddie Benavides 37
Jeff Richardson 33
Ron Oester 20
Luis Quinones 12
Willie Greene 10
Keith Kessinger 7
Wade Rowdon 7
Tony Fernandez 6
Kelly Paris 6
Tom Runnells 6
Lenny Harris 4
Gary Green 1
Brian Koelling 1

CLEVELAND INDIANS (24)
Julio Franco 698
Felix Fermin 601
Omar Vizquel 186
Mark Lewis 166
Jay Bell 101
Mike Fischlin 90
Alvaro Espinoza 50
Paul Zuvella 49
Ron Washington 48
Cory Snyder 47
Carlos Baerga 14
Jerry Dybzinski 13
Larry Milbourne 11
Johnnie LeMaster 8
Luis Aguayo 4
Junior Noboa 4
Tony Perezchica 4
Rafael Santana 4
Fran Mullins 3
Jose Escobar 2
Domingo Ramos 2
Tom Brookens 1
Tommy Hinzo 1
Dan Rohn 1

COLORADO ROCKIES (6)
Walt Weiss 212
Vinny Castilla 109
Freddie Benavides 43
Nelson Liriano 26
Jason Bates 9
Pedro Castellano 1

DETROIT TIGERS (17)
Alan Trammell 1,442
Travis Fryman 292
Chris Gomez 151
Tom Brookens 64
Doug Baker 41
Mike Brumley 35
Luis Salazar 29
Tony Phillips 18
Al Pedrique 8
Ivan DeJesus 7
Jim Walewander 6
Doug Flynn 5
Julio Gonzalez 5
Jim Morrison 2
Howard Johnson 1
Wayne Krenchicki 1
Doug Strange 1

FLORIDA MARLINS (5)
Kurt Abbott 183
Walt Weiss 149
Alex Arias 55
Mario Diaz 9
Eddie Zosky 1

HOUSTON ASTROS (20)
Rafael Ramirez 470
Craig Reynolds 451
Dickie Thon 403
Andujar Cedeno 376
Eric Yelding 111
Orlando Miller 95
Casey Candaele 46
Bert Pena 39
Ricky Gutierrez 24
Andy Stankiewicz 19
Dale Berra 16
Juan Guerrero 15
Jose Uribe 13
Bill Doran 7
Buddy Biancalana 6
Craig Shipley 6
Alan Bannister 3
Kiko Garcia 3
David Rohde 2
Jim Pankovits 1

KANSAS CITY ROYALS (19)
Kurt Stillwell 473
Greg Gagne 346
U.L. Washington 277
Onix Concepcion 211
Angel Salazar 192
David Howard 166
Buddy Biancalana 151
Bill Pecota 98
Rico Rossy 54
Curtis Wilkerson 50
Ross Jones 35
Brad Wellman 25
Steve Jeltz 13
Edgar Caceres 6
Greg Pryor 5
Bucky Dent 2
Dave Owen 2
Stu Cole 1
Jim Scranton 1

LOS ANGELES DODGERS (21)
Jose Offerman 531
Alfredo Griffin 458
Dave Anderson 330
Mariano Duncan 299
Bill Russell 289
Rafael Bournigal 52
Glenn Hoffman 40
Lenny Harris 15
Bob Bailor 14
Mike Sharperson 14
Craig Shipley 14
Chad Fonville 11
Derrel Thomas 11
Jose Vizcaino 8
Mark Belanger 6
Eddie Pye 3
Cory Snyder 3
Phil Garner 1
Jeff Hamilton 1
Mike Ramsey 1
Dick Schofield 1

MILWAUKEE BREWERS (19)
Robin Yount 347
Bill Spiers 331
Dale Sveum 315
Ernest Riles 273
Pat Listach 265
Jose Valentin 197
Ed Romero 96
Gary Sheffield 93
Edgar Diaz 62
Juan Bell 36
Dickie Thon 19
Juan Castillo 18
Scott Fletcher 16
Gus Polidor 14
Brian Giles 11
Rob Picciolo 4
Fernando Vina 4
Steve Kiefer 2
Willie Lozado 2

MINNESOTA TWINS (18)
Greg Gagne 1,021
Pat Meares 268
Ron Washington 144
Al Newman 137
Houston Jimenez 128
Jeff Reboulet 126
Len Faedo 124
Roy Smalley Jr. 44
Alvaro Espinoza 26
Scott Leius 21
Denny Hocking 17
Doug Baker 13
Chris Speier 11
Steve Lombardozzi 10
Donnie Hill 7
Gary Gaetti 2
Chuck Knoblauch 1
Tim Teufel 1

MONTREAL EXPOS (26)
Spike Owen 507
Wil Cordero 369
Hubie Brooks 342
Tom Foley 155
Luis Rivera 154
Chris Speier 151
Angel Salazar 65
Doug Flynn 63
Bryan Little 63
Derrel Thomas 45
Mike Lansing 38
Rex Hudler 31
Jeff Huson 24
Mike Ramsey 17
Bret Barberie 15
Casey Candaele 15
Rene Gonzales 12
Al Newman 10
Mark Grudzielanek 11
U.L. Washington 7
Dave Silvestri 6
Junior Noboa 3
Juan Bell 1
Fred Manrique 1
Nelson Norman 1
Frank Taveras 1

NEW YORK METS (31)
Kevin Elster 462
Rafael Santana 427
Jose Vizcaino 206
Howard Johnson 197
Jose Oquendo 159
Dick Schofield 130
Ron Gardenhire 118
Tim Bogar 76
Bob Bailor 72
Tony Fernandez 48
Kevin Baez 45
Garry Templeton 30
Hubie Brooks 26
Kevin Mitchell 20
Bill Pecota 20
Jeff McKnight 15
Keith Miller 9
Jeff Gardner 8
Fernando Vina 5
Bill Almon 4
Mario Diaz 4
Luis Rivera 4
Edgardo Alfonzo 3
Larry Bowa 3
Wally Backman 2
Tito Navarro 2
Brian Giles 1
Jeff Kent 1
Junior Noboa 1
Al Pedrique 1
Craig Shipley 1

NEW YORK YANKEES (29)
Alvaro Espinoza 421
Bobby Meacham 362
Wayne Tolleson 186
Randy Velarde 180
Rafael Santana 147
Roy Smalley Jr. 142
Andre Robertson 131
Mike Gallego 128
Tony Fernandez 91
Spike Owen 88
Andy Stankiewicz 78
Mike Fischlin 24
Tim Foli 20
Paul Zuvella 19
Dale Berra 15
Bucky Dent 15
Derek Jeter 13
Kevin Elster 12
Carlos Rodriguez 9
Dave Silvestri 8
Rodney Scott 6
Larry Milbourne 3
Ivan DeJesus 2
Keith Smith 2
Luis Aguayo 1
Tom Brookens 1
Robert Eenhoorn 1
Jeff Moronko 1
Jerry Royster 1

OAKLAND A'S (24)
Mike Bordick 517
Walt Weiss 480
Alfredo Griffin 460
Mike Gallego 184
Tony Phillips 173
Donnie Hill 98
Fred Stanley 44
Jimmy Sexton 38
Bill Almon 36
Mark Wagner 18
Fausto Cruz 12
Steve Kiefer 12
Ernest Riles 10
Fred Manrique 6
Kurt Abbott 3
Luis Quinones 3
Lance Blankenship 2
Scott Brosius 1
Vance Law 1
Johnnie LeMaster 1
Dwayne Murphy 1
Craig Paquette 1
Kevin Seitzer 1
Dale Sveum 1

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (23)
Steve Jeltz 497
Dickie Thon 403
Ivan DeJesus 369
Kevin Stocker 256
Luis Aguayo 120
Mariano Duncan 104
Kim Batiste 80
Juan Bell 65
Tom Foley 57
Rod Booker 32
Joe Millette 28
Dale Sveum 26
Jackie Gutierrez 15
Ken Dowell 13
Derrel Thomas 13
Kiko Garcia 11
Kevin Elster 9
Ken Jackson 5
Julio Franco 1
Charlie Hayes 1
Greg Legg 1
Mickey Morandini 1
Shane Turner 1

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (25)
Jay Bell 904
Dale Berra 381
Rafael Belliard 295
Sam Khalifa 149
Al Pedrique 103
Rey Quinones 62
Felix Fermin 51
Bill Almon 35
U.L. Washington 27
Johnnie LeMaster 20
Carlos Garcia 14
Denny Gonzalez 12
Ron Wotus 12
Tom Foley 10
Tim Foli 8
Curtis Wilkerson 6
Tony Womack 5
Jeff King 3
Jimmy Smith 3
Jim Morrison 2
Jerry Dybzinski 1
Houston Jimenez 1
Nelson Liriano 1
Nelson Norman 1
John Wehner 1

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (12)
Ozzie Smith 1,771
Jose Oquendo 108
Tripp Cromer 82
Tim Jones 69
Chris Speier 33
Mike Ramsey 23
Ivan DeJesus 4
Kelly Paris 4
Jose Uribe 4
Luis Alicea 3
Bien Figueroa 2
Bill Lyons 2

SAN DIEGO PADRES (20)
Garry Templeton 1,119
Tony Fernandez 298
Ricky Gutierrez 177
Andujar Cedeno 95
Craig Shipley 62
Dickie Thon 62
Mario Ramirez 54
Luis Salazar 46
Luis Lopez 36
Bip Roberts 28
Kurt Stillwell 26
Gary Green 18
Joey Cora 16
Jerry Royster 16
Tim Flannery 13
Ray Holbert 13
Archi Cianfrocco 10
Paul Faries 7
Joe Pittman 7
Roberto Alomar 5

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (23)
Jose Uribe 909
Royce Clayton 473
Johnnie LeMaster 313
Mike Benjamin 97
Matt Williams 88
Dave Anderson 43
Brad Wellman 29
Joe Pettini 22
Ricky Adams 19
Ernest Riles 18
Guy Sularz 18
Fran Mullins 16
Darrell Evans 15
Chris Speier 15
Tony Perezchica 8
Luis Quinones 5
Randy Kutcher 4
Greg Litton 4
Ivan DeJesus 2
Paul Faries 2
Joe Pittman 2
Erik Johnson 1
Andres Santana 1

SEATTLE MARINERS (23)
Omar Vizquel 610
Spike Owen 450
Rey Quinones 309
Todd Cruz 136
Felix Fermin 110
Domingo Ramos 92
Jeff Schaefer 74
Luis Sojo 65
Alex Rodriguez 54
Mario Diaz 45
Mike Brumley 39
Rich Amaral 30
Brian Giles 28
Danny Tartabull 17
Darnell Coles 12
Rich Renteria 9
Paul Serna 8
Dave Cochrane 4
Larry Milbourne 3
Ross Jones 2
Greg Litton 2
Jim Presley 1
Fernando Vina 1

TEXAS RANGERS (21)
Scott Fletcher 491
Curtis Wilkerson 259
Jeff Huson 239
Bucky Dent 169
Jeff Kunkel 155
Manuel Lee 147
Benji Gil 126
Wayne Tolleson 112
Mario Diaz 94
Dickie Thon 75
Esteban Beltre 48
Gary Green 37
Jose Hernandez 35
Fred Manrique 30
Jim Anderson 25
Doug Flynn 22
Billy Ripken 14
Cris Colon 13
Al Newman 8
Jon Shave 6
Mark Wagner 5

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (12)
Tony Fernandez 1,066
Alfredo Griffin 412
Manuel Lee 305
Dick Schofield 128
Alex Gonzalez 96
Domingo Cedeno 43
Rene Gonzales 22
Tomas Perez 12
Luis Sojo 9
Kelly Gruber 8
Eddie Zosky 7
Alex Infante 1

Source: Elias Sports Bureau

RIPPING THE OPPOSITION

In addition to leading the majors in durability the last 13-plus
seasons, Ripken ranks among the top five in six offensive
categories during that span. (Statistics are for the period of
April 5, 1982, through Sept. 6, 1995; the Streak began on May
30, 1982.)

RUNS
Rickey Henderson 1,462
Tim Raines 1,297
Wade Boggs 1,277
Cal Ripken Jr. 1,258
Paul Molitor 1,254

HITS
Wade Boggs 2,524
Tony Gwynn 2,367
Cal Ripken Jr. 2,348
Kirby Puckett 2,282
Ryne Sandberg 2,132

EXTRA-BASE HITS
Cal Ripken Jr. 811
Eddie Murray 745
Andre Dawson 743
Joe Carter 705
Dave Winfield 670

DOUBLES
Wade Boggs 486
Cal Ripken Jr. 444
Don Mattingly 434
Tim Wallach 408
George Brett 394

HOME RUNS
Eddie Murray 341
Andre Dawson 325
Cal Ripken Jr. 325
Joe Carter 323
Dale Murphy 306

RUNS BATTED IN
Eddie Murray 1,330
Cal Ripken Jr. 1,251
Andre Dawson 1,186
Joe Carter 1,166
Harold Baines 1,158

Source: Baltimore Orioles

COUNT ON 'EM

Here are the top five consecutive-game streaks in major league
history and among active players through Sept. 6, 1995.

ALLTIME
Cal Ripken Jr. 2,131
Lou Gehrig 2,130
Everett Scott 1,307
Steve Garvey 1,207
Billy Williams 1,117

ACTIVE
Cal Ripken Jr. 2,131
Frank Thomas 235
Travis Fryman 227
Chad Curtis 217
Barry Bonds 209

Source: Baltimore Orioles

WHO KNEW BACK THEN?

This was the Orioles' starting lineup on May 30, 1982--the first
game of the Streak--and here's where those players are now.

POS. PLAYER/UPDATE
CF Al Bumbry
First base coach for the Orioles
2B Rich Dauer
Minor league instructor for the Royals
LF John Lowenstein
TV commentator for the Orioles
DH Ken Singleton
Radio-TV commentator for the Expos
1B Terry Crowley
Batting coach for the Twins
RF Dan Ford
Drug prevention counselor in Los Angeles
C Rick Dempsey
Triple A manager for the Dodgers
3B Cal Ripken Jr.
Shortstop for the Orioles
SS Lenn Sakata
Manager of a Japanese farm team
P Jim Palmer
Baseball commentator for ABC