Biography of Cal Ripken Jr.

He retired from baseball in October, 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles.  His name appears in the record books repeatedly, most notably as one of only seven players in history to achieve 400 home runs and 3,000 hits.  On July 29, 2007 he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with Tony Gywnn.  Cal received the 3rd highest percentage in history, collecting the highest votes ever by the BBWAA.

In 1995, Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played (2,130) and voluntarily ended his streak in 1998 after playing 2,632 consecutive games.  Although he finished his career at third base, Cal is still best known for redefining the position of shortstop.

Ripken’s name has become synonymous with strength, character, endurance and integrity.  His philosophy of working hard, playing with passion and enjoying the game has made a tremendous impact on the sport and on fans everywhere.  In 1999, Babe Ruth League Inc. changed the name of its largest division (5-12 year-olds) from Bambino to Cal Ripken Baseball.  Presently, over 700,000 youths play Cal Ripken Baseball worldwide.

Now Ripken is using the platform that baseball has provided him to help grow the game he loves at the grassroots level.  This next phase of his life first started with the construction of a one-of-a-kind baseball complex in his hometown of Aberdeen, MD.  The Aberdeen Project currently consists of Ripken Stadium, a state-of-the-art 6,000-seat minor league ballpark that is home to the hugely successful Class A Aberdeen IronBirds. Adjacent to the minor league ballpark is the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy that consists of several youth-sized fields that are modeled after famous big league ballparks Camden Yards, which is called Cal, Sr.’s Yard and is owned and operated by the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, Memorial Stadium, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.

The academy is also the permanent home of the Cal Ripken World Series played each August. It includes 15 teams of 11 and 12 year olds from all over the world and crowns the champion of the Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth League, Inc.

In June of 2005 Ripken Professional Baseball acquired its second minor team, The Augusta GreenJackets. Soon thereafter Ripken Baseball announced the formation of Baseball Enterprises LLC, which will serve as the controlling entity for the Augusta GreenJackets. Baseball Enterprises is comprised of current and former major league ballplayers, as well as other investors who now own shares in the South Atlantic League team.

Due to the success of the Aberdeen complex as a tournament destination and the desire to grow the game of baseball worldwide, Ripken opened a new complex in June of 2006 in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Seven themed baseball fields (five youth and two full sized) have been individually modeled to the dimensions and character of historic parks, including Old Comiskey, Forbes Field, Ebbets Field and The Polo Grounds.

To build on the Ripken Way philosophy of teaching baseball, Cal teamed up with his brother, Bill Ripken, in an effort to share their teaching philosophy with coaches and parents everywhere. In the spring of 2004, the Ripken Brothers released their first instructional book, Play Baseball The Ripken Way. The book was published by Random House and covers all aspects of the game.
 
The Ripken brothers went on a 10-city national book tour which resulted in the book spending time on the coveted New York Times Bestseller List. The paperback became available early in 2005.
 
Cal’s interest in writing books didn’t stop there. In March of 2005 he signed with Gotham Books to produce three additional books that will expand on his approach to sports and everyday life. Acquired in concert with Penguin Books’ children’s imprint Philomel Books, Gotham will publish two books for adults and Philomel will publish one book for children.
 
The first of the books, Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way, is an essential read for parents as their children begin to discover youth sports. Released in April 2006, this book features Ripken’s advice, philosophy, and lessons learned from guiding a child through youth sports. He also draws upon the experience of fathering his own two children and what he learned from his own father, Cal Ripken, Sr.
 
The remaining books will be released in 2007. One will be Cal’s first foray into the world of business books as he takes his popular corporate speech on Perseverance and transforms it into a business tool. The other will be an animated children’s book that uses the infamous 0-21 start by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles as a tool to teach kids about persevering through difficult times.

Ripken has always placed a strong focus on giving back to the community.  In 2001 he and his family established the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, in memory of the family’s patriarch.  The Foundation helps teach life lessons through baseball to disadvantaged youth from all over the country and gives them a life-changing experience.  The foundation has refurbished fields throughout Maryland, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country and helped thousands of kids enjoy baseball experiences that they would otherwise never encounter.  Additionally, the foundation has teamed up with NikeGo, the non-profit arm of Nike, to donate over $1Million of baseball and softball equipment to school systems across the country.

Among his many on-field accolades are: AL Rookie of the Year (’82), two time AL Most Valuable Player (’83, ’91), two time Gold Glove recipient (’91, ’92), two time All-Star MVP (’91, ’01), a world record 2,632 consecutive games and 19 All-Star Game selections.  In 2001, Cal was honored when fans named his 2,131st consecutive game Major League Baseball’s “Most Memorable Moment” in history through a program run by MLB.