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:''"Cal Ripken" redirects here. For his father, see Cal Ripken, Sr.'' Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed "The Iron Man",〔 is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his position's most offensively productive players, Ripken compiled 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in during his career, and he won two Gold Glove Awards for his defense. He was a 19-time All-Star and was twice named American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP). Ripken is best known for holding the record for consecutive games played, 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. In 2007, he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Born in Maryland, Ripken grew up traveling around the United States as his father, Cal, Sr., was a player and coach in the Orioles' organization. After a fine career at Aberdeen High School, Ripken, Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the second round of the 1978 MLB Draft. He reached the major leagues in 1981 as a third baseman, but the following year, he was shifted to shortstop, his long-time position for Baltimore. That year, Ripken also won the AL Rookie of the Year Award and began his consecutive games played streak. In 1983, he won a World Series championship and his first AL MVP Award. One of Ripken's best years came in 1991, when he was named an All-Star, won the Home Run Derby, and was recipient of his first All-Star Game MVP Award, his second AL MVP Award, and first Gold Glove Award. He broke the consecutive games played record on September 6, 1995, in his 2,131st consecutive game, which fans voted as the league's "most memorable moment" in an MLB.com poll; Ripken voluntarily ended his 17-year streak at 2,632 games in 1998. He switched back to third base for the final five years of his career. In 2001, his final season, Ripken was named the All-Star Game MVP and was honored with the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award. Ripken is considered one of the best shortstops and third basemen in baseball history. At , , he pioneered the way for the success of taller, larger shortstops. He is a member of the 3,000 hit club and is behind Derek Jeter and Honus Wagner for most hits by a shortstop. Ripken is a best-selling author and the President and CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc., whose goal is to grow the love of baseball from a grassroots level. Since his retirement, he has purchased three minor league baseball teams. He has been active in charity work throughout his career, and is still considered an ambassador of the game. ==Early life== Ripken was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the son of Violet Roberta "Vi" and Cal Ripken, Sr. He has German, English, and Irish ancestry.〔http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-09-04/news/1995247061_1_ripken-livezey-aberdeen〕〔http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-07-25/sports/bs-md-vi-ripken-profile-20120725_1_orioles-manager-minor-league-ripken-children〕 Though the Ripkens called Aberdeen, Maryland, their home, they were often on the move because of Cal, Sr.'s coaching duties with the Baltimore Orioles organization.〔Rosenfeld, p. 2〕 Cal, Sr., in fact, was in Topeka, Kansas with one of his teams when his son was born.〔Joseph and Gronvall, p. 6〕 Cal, Jr., grew up around baseball and got started in it at a very young age.〔Rosenfeld, p.3〕 He was able to receive instruction from players on his father's teams, notably Doug DeCinces.〔Rosenfeld, p. 9〕 He also got advice from his father, who once remarked to his mother that his questions were better than the ones reporters had.〔Joseph and Gronvall, p. 7〕 Jeanne Strazzabosco writes that at the age of three, Ripken knew he wanted to be a ballplayer, and Paul Joseph and Kal Gronvall write that at the age of 10, Ripken "knew the game inside and out."〔〔Strazzabosco, p. 5〕 Ripken and his brother Billy attended Aberdeen High School.〔Rosenfeld, pp. 10, 60〕 They both played baseball there; Cal also played soccer.〔Rosenfeld, p. 12〕 He has two other siblings, Ellen and Fred.〔Rosenfeld, p. 6〕 Ripken began his high school career playing second base; his coach, Don Morrison, said, "I was considering moving him to short, but I was unsure if his arm was strong enough."〔Rosenfeld, p. 10〕 Despite Morrison's concerns, Ripken did move to shortstop as a sophomore, combining strong fielding with a team-leading 10 runs batted in (RBI).〔 Needing pitching help, the Aberdeen Eagles began using Ripken as a pitcher as well in his junior year. He responded by striking out 55 batters in innings pitched with three shutouts while batting .339 with 21 hits and nine RBI.〔Rosenfeld, pp. 13–14〕 He was named the Harford County Most Valuable Player (MVP) while helping Aberdeen become county champions for the first time since 1959.〔Rosenfeld, p. 13〕 During his senior year, Ripken again had a strong season, lifting his batting average to .688 at one point and posting an 0.79 ERA with 45 strikeouts over his first 26 innings.〔Rosenfeld, p. 18〕 In the playoffs, Ripken pitched the state championship game against Thomas Stone High School.〔Rosenfeld, pp. 19–20〕 The Eagles trailed 3–1 when Ripken, noting that rain was coming and that the game would be cancelled and replayed since the Eagles had not yet played the fourth inning, made nine throws to first base to ensure the game would be replayed.〔 When the game was played the next week, Ripken struck out 17, allowed two hits, and threw a complete game as Aberdeen won the state championship.〔Rosenfeld, p. 20〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cal Ripken, Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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