Tonight, the Baltimore Orioles honor the 20-year anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s record by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game. The big game actually happened Sept. 6, but seeing as the O’s will be in Toronto on that date and Blue Jays fans probably won’t care much, they’re getting their warm-and-fuzzy on tonight at Camden Yards.
By the way, Ripken would go on to play another 501 games in a row before finally taking a day off. That’s 2,632 games. To put that in perspective, the longest current consecutive games streak in the big leagues belongs to Manny Machado, who has played in 131 straight. To approach Ripken's achievement, Machado would have to repeat his current streak 19 more times, and he’d still be 12 games shy of Ripken's mark. Crazy. Earlier today, I caught up with a few current Orioles who are actually old enough to remember 2,131. Here’s what they had to say:
Adam Jones, CF
Age on 9/6/95: 10 years old
Longest consecutive games streak: 322
Current consecutive games streak: 56
“I’m from California, so Baltimore didn’t mean much. But just seeing that, it was a sport that I started to like at the time, and it was cool to see somebody represent the game in a positive way. I remember watching it on TV. A guy playing 2,632 games, that’s almost 17 years straight. That’s unbelievable. Try to fathom that in today’s game, where you might get one or two guys a year to play 162. So it’s a remarkable accomplishment. First off, it’s testament to how he stayed healthy. I know he played with nicks and bruises, but to man up every day and play demanding positions at short and third, that tells you a lot about the individual. Physically, you might be able to do it, and some days might not look as pretty as others, but the mental part of it is the remarkable part. There’s days where you do need a mental break. For Cal to do what he did is nothing short of amazing. That’s a record that 100 percent will not be broken.”
Age on 9/6/95: 8 years old
Longest consecutive games streak: N/A (pitcher)
Current consecutive games streak: N/A
“My mom and dad [former Orioles pitcher and Ripken teammate Dave Johnson] went, but I was at my grandparents' house, so I was watching it on TV. But obviously it was an awesome moment in Orioles history. I was lucky enough to meet Cal a couple of times because of my dad. To be able to witness that as a Baltimore fan, he was my favorite player growing up, just awesome. To be here today and witness this, it’s pretty cool for me. I don’t think the record will ever be broken.”
J.J. Hardy, SS
Age on 9/6/95: 13 years old
Longest consecutive games streak: 150
Current consecutive games streak: 0
“He was one of my favorite players growing up. I still have the Tucson newspaper from when it happened. It’s folded up in a K-Swiss shoe box with all my baseball cards. I think they’re up in the attic of my first house where my brother lives back in Arizona. I didn’t keep any newspaper articles, but that’s one I kept. I remember him just running around the stands giving high-fives to the fans and all the teammates and everyone coming out. I knew that it was a big moment. Even back then, I knew it was a big deal, and it’s pretty cool to see this tonight. Can’t believe it was 20 years ago. To play 162 in one year is a really big accomplishment now. To do that for how many years -- 16, 17, 18 -- yeah, that’s ridiculous.”
Darren O'Day, P
Age on 9/6/95: 12 years old
Longest consecutive games streak: N/A
Current consecutive games streak: N/A
“During the strike year in ’94, we came up and did a family trip and did a tour of Camden Yards. So we went on the field and walked around the warning track. I remember seeing the warehouse. When Cal broke the streak the next year, it was the warehouse that stuck out to me because of the 2131 they threw up there. I had like rotator cuff strains when I was 12, so I already knew I wasn’t an iron man. Even that young, I could comprehend how hard that would be to do. With the amount of money they got invested in guys now, that record’s safe.”
Buck Showalter, manager
Age on 9/6/95: 39 years old (was managing the Yankees)
Longest consecutive games streak: N/A
Current consecutive games streak: N/A
“We were in the middle of being the first wild-card team ever. I heard some of the grumblings about how he was hurting the team by playing every day. Spare me. Go ask his teammates and the other team. I never looked across the field and felt like Cal was physically struggling or hurting the team. I was really hoping he would a take day off every time we played him.”
