Cal Ripken, Jr. Statue

This statue commemorates Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. (1960-). A Maryland native, he spent his entire twenty-one-season big league career with the organization. In that time, Ripken won two Gold Glove Awards and two American League Most Valuable Player Awards. Nicknamed “The Iron Man,” he is best remembered for breaking Lou Gehring’s record for consecutive games played. Following the 2001 season, the nineteen-time All-Star retired from baseball, finishing his career with 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 RBIs. In 2007, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. On September 6, 2012, the seventeenth anniversary of the night Ripken broke Gehring’s record, the Orioles unveiled a statue of their longtime shortstop in the left-center field picnic area of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Designed by Maryland-based artist Antonio Tobias “Toby” Mendez, the larger-than-life-sized bronze sculpture depicts Ripken in action on the field. Dressed in his Orioles uniform, he attempts to backhand a ground ball. The organization installed Ripken’s statue as part of its Orioles Legends Celebration Series. Throughout the 2012 season, the Orioles unveiled bronze sculptures of six of the club’s Hall of Famers to mark the twentieth anniversary of the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Former players honored with statues as part of the program that year, besides Ripken, included Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, and Brooks Robinson.

Calvin Edwin “Cal” Ripken, Jr. was born on August 24, 1960 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. His father, Cal Ripken Sr., was a professional baseball player in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system who later became a coach with the organization. Growing up, the younger Ripken stuck by his father’s side, always following him to the ballpark. There, he hung around the players and absorbed their advice on baseball like a dry sponge. Later, Ripken attended Aberdeen High School, where he excelled in both academics and athletics. An honor roll student, he starred on both the school’s baseball and soccer teams. Pitching and playing shortstop, Ripken piloted the baseball team to a state championship in his senior year. 

After graduating from high school in 1978, the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the second round of that year’s Major League Baseball Draft. Despite receiving plenty of scholarship offers from college programs all across the country, Ripken knew that he wanted to pursue a professional baseball career. Accordingly, he signed with the Orioles and began his career in the organization’s minor league system. After a few years in the minors, Ripken received a call-up to the major leagues in August 1981. He ultimately spent his entire twenty-one-season big league career with the Orioles. In that time, Ripken hit at least twenty home runs in twelve of those seasons, drove in 100 or more RBIs in four of them, and won two American League Most Valuable Player Awards. Defensively, he won two Gold Glove Awards and led all American League shortstops in double plays eight times, assists seven times, putouts six times, and fielding percentage four times. 

His offensive and defensive accolades aside, Ripken is best remembered for “the streak.” On September 6, 1995, the Orioles shortstop played in his 2,131 consecutive games, breaking a record held by New York Yankees legend Lou Gehring for fifty-six years. Appropriately nicknamed “The Iron Man,” Ripken not only exceeded Gehring’s record, but also extended his own streak to 2,632 games, which ended when he voluntarily sat out the final game of the 1998 season. Following the 2001 season, the nineteen-time All-Star retired from baseball, finishing his career with 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 RBIs. In 2007, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

On September 6, 2012, the seventeenth anniversary of the night Ripken broke Gehring’s record, the Orioles unveiled a statue of their longtime shortstop in the left-center field picnic area of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Designed by Maryland-based artist Antonio Tobias “Toby” Mendez, the larger-than-life-sized bronze sculpture depicts Ripken in action on the field. Dressed in his Orioles uniform, he attempts to backhand a ground ball. The organization installed Ripken’s statue as part of its Orioles Legends Celebration Series. Throughout the 2012 season, the Orioles unveiled bronze sculptures of six of the club’s Hall of Famers to mark the twentieth anniversary of the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Former players honored with statues as part of the program that year, besides Ripken, included Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, and Brooks Robinson. 

"Cal Ripken, Jr." baseballhall.org. National Baseball Hall of Fame. Web. 29 June 2021 <https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/ripken-cal>.

Fox, Dewey. "Ripken statue unveiled during Thursday ceremony at packed Camden Yards." Baltimore Sun, September, 7, 2012 <https://www.baltimoresun.com/ph-ag-ripken-statue-unveiling-0907-20120907-story.html>.

Keenan, Jimmy. "Cal RIpken." sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Web. 29 June 2021 <https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cal-ripken/>.

Seidel, Jeff. "On anniversary of streak, Ripken honored with statue." mlb.com. n.d. Web. 29 June 2021 <https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/a-bronze-statue-of-cal-ripken-jr-was-unveiled-at-camden-yards/c-38013476>.

Verdi, Robert. "Cal Ripken, Jr." Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 29 June 2021 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cal-Ripken-Jr>.