Saturday night in Baltimore, Cal Ripken Jr. and the Orioles celebrated the 30th anniversary of his breaking the Major League Baseball record for consecutive games played with his 2,131st appearance, now known as the “2-1-3-1” record.
The Hall of Fame shortstop and third baseman, now 65, was honored in Oriole Park at Camden Yards exactly 30 years after breaking the previous consecutive games mark that had belonged to New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.
The “Iron Man” recalled his account of the historical event and those that led up to it.
“The memories that happened that night are crystal clear,” Ripken said. “A lot of the things that you do on the baseball field, it’s amazing how that comes back to you.”
There were many famous guests in attendance including Hall of Famers Harold Baines, Ken Griffey Jr., Eddie Murray, Mike Mussina and Jim Palmer, as well as Orioles Hall of Famers Brady Anderson, Al Bumbry and And B.J. Surhoff.
The Orioles were hosting the Los Angeles Angels that night, and once the game became official in the fifth inning, the game was paused to honor Ripken. It would eventually become a memorable 22-minute break as the crowd gave Ripken a standing ovation.
After stepping out of the dugout to address the cheers and don his cap, Ripken was urged by teammates Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro to take a lap around the field and greet fans. Ripken said he was initially reluctant to take that trip.
“I really didn’t want to do that, but they kept saying, ‘We won’t get this game started,’ and I was super sensitive to that,” Ripken said.
The record is now viewed as a unifying event after the MLB work stoppage and cancellation of the World Series in 1994.
Ripken would run up his consecutive games record to 2,632 games before the streak ended in 1998. He would play all 3,001 games in his 21-year career with the Orioles (1981-2001), winning a World Series in 1983. He won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1982 and MVP awards in 1983 and 1991.
Ripken, who is now a part-owner of the Orioles, said he didn’t initially set out to break Gehrig’s record.
“I never, ever thought there was an end game, that there was a goal or that I was going to break the record,” Ripken said.
Looking back, Ripken felt the streak inspired fans who bought into the grind-it-out, work-hard-daily mentality they lived by in their own lives.
“I’ve heard different stories. I’ve been amazed that people have their own streaks in whatever they’re doing in their lives,” Ripken said.
“Just hearing the importance of showing up for something you love, I think that’s how people related to the streak.”
