Happy Birthday Cal Ripken Jr

Born in 1960 on August 24th, Cal Ripken Jr turns 50 today. The second "Iron Man" of major league baseball, Ripken deserves to have a special birthday.

Ripken's baseball feats are almost endless. Not withstanding the record that never will be broken of playing in 2632 consecutive games. The 1982 Rookie of the year who actually began his career as a third baseman was shifted to shortstop, played in 19, yes nineteen, consecutive all-star games, has one world series ring (1983), a member of the 3000 hit club and played his entire career in Baltimore, naturally having his # 8 uniform retired and inducted into Baseballs Hall of Fame as a first ballot inductee in 2007.

This 1982 Topps Future Stars Card #21 was one of my very first "big" purchases in 1984 when I bought five of these. If my memory serves me correctly they were less than $ 5.00 each at the time. I have since donated (gave away) two of them over the years, holding onto three of them for no apparent reason. If anyone out there is interested in a trade for one of them - let me know. I am still more of a Cubs fan !

Originally listed as a third baseman and sharing future star status with Bob Bonner and Jeff Schneider (each of whom had incredibly short stints in the major leagues), Ripken certainly made up for it.

Happy 50th Birthday wishes go out to Ripken. Being a fellow 1960 baby, I feel slightly embarrassed in even having one thing in common with the "Iron Man".

Born in 1960

In this first post of a new "irregular special feature" I will be highlighting players who were born in 1960. Why 1960 ? Well, that is the year I was born and that is as good a reason as I could came up with.

So for starters I will acknowledge the career leaders in some statistics:

Homeruns: Cal Ripken Jr - 431

RBI's: Cal Ripken Jr - 1695

Batting Average: Tony Gwynn - .338 (more than 100 games played)

Stolen Bases: Steve Sax - 444

Triples: Juan Samuel - 102

Wins: Mark Langston - 179

Saves: John Franco - 424

Strikeouts: Mark Langston - 2474

Other notable players that were born in 1960 are:

Sid Bream

Ron Darling

Kirby Puckett

Fernando Valenzuela

Andy Van Slyke

Harold Reynolds

Kent Hrbek

Chili Davis

Tom Brunansky and many many others

In the weeks and months ahead I will scan some cards and share some insight about those players that were born in 1960. Hope you enjoy . . .

'Men at Work"

I just finished re-reading the book titled "Men at Work" by George Will (copy written 1990). I read this book when it first came out, almost twenty years ago, and now that I have this avenue (blog) I thought I would share my thoughts.

First of all I recommend this read to all baseball fans, it is a book written to helps us all (even cardboard collectors) understand the details and beauty, the hardwork and dedication it takes to be “great” at the game we all love. This passage from the books front flap sums it up: “Being an informed, observant baseball fan is a form of participation in that complex, subtle game. Baseball . . . is indeed a game, but one at which men work with admirable seriousness”.

The book has only four chapters yet over 300 pages packed with statistics and memories from the era of the eighties. The four chapters are titled simply:

Chapter One: The Manager (Tony LaRussa)
Chapter Two: The Pitcher (Orel Hershiser)
Chapter Three: The Batter (Tony Gwynn)
Chapter Four: The Defense (Cal Ripken Jr.).

LaRussa is the only one still “active” and all four truly symbolize the work ethic, character and “greatness” of baseball in the 1980’s.

So I got to wondering . . . if the same book was written in 1970 (the 1960’s were my favorite decade of baseball), who would have been chosen for these four chapters ? For me it might look like:

Chapter One: Manager Walter Alston
Chapter Two: Pitcher Sandy Koufax
Chapter Three: Batter Frank Robinson
Chapter Four: Defense Roberto Clemente


Pick a decade and come up with your four “great” players, keeping in mind that “greatness” is more than just numbers, it incorporates work ethic, character and excellence. I would be interested in knowing what you think . . . as we approach the end of this decade, who would the “great” four chapters be of for the 2000’s ? It is not as easy as you think.