Cal Ripken

“Iron Man,” Cal Ripken is a former MLB shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21 year career for the Baltimore Orioles. His most famous attribute is breaking New York Yankees’ Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played. Cal broke the 56 year record when he played in his 2,131^st consecutive game on September 6, 1995 in front of a sold out crowd at Oriole Park. In the game the night before, Cal Ripken hit a home run that tied Gehrig’s record and another home run in his 2,131^st game. This moment in MLB’s history, was named “the most memorable moment” in MLB history. His streak ended at 2,632 games when he removed his name from the lineup for the final game of the 1998 Orioles season.

Cal Ripken is a 19-tim All-Star and member of the 3,000 hit club and is one of the best shortstops and third basemen to ever play baseball. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and was a first ballot inductee with the third highest voting percentage in Hall of Fame history. Bestselling author and President and CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc., he wanted the company to represent he and his brother Bill’s business and philanthropy dealings. Ripken Baseball’s focal point is: Ripken Management and Design, Youth Camps and Clinics, Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, Ripken Professional Baseball, which includes three minor-league teams and the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Cal retired on October 6, 2001 and became part owner of the New York Penn League’s Aberdeen IronBirds.

Cal donates to many causes including research on Lou Gehrig’s disease, he is the founder of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to give underprivileged children the opportunity to attend baseball camps and learn about the game. In 2007, Ripken, along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Mia Hamm, Jeff Gordon, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, and Alonzo Mourning founded Athletes for Hope which helps professional athletes be more involved in charitable causes. Cal Ripken writes a weekly youth sports advice column in the Baltimore Sun and has produced a series of baseball training videos. In 2007, he began working as a studio for TBS Sports as an analyst during the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. He made an announcement that after his son graduated from high school in 2012, he would consider rejoining the Orioles full time as an advisor. Alongside Kevin Cowherd, he and Cal have authored a series of young adult books that uses baseball as a theme to address issues that kids face everyday. The fourth book in the series was released in March 2014.  Cal Ripken is available for speaking engagements, sports clinics, and personal appearances.

APPEARANCES: ESPN, ABC, E:60, ESPN First Take, GMA, Beyond the Glory

BOOKS: Get in the Game, The Longest Season

TO WORK WITH CAL RIPKEN: Sport Speaker Cal Ripken can be hired for endorsements and events in roles such as public speaker, autograph signings, SMT’S, and public relation campaigns.