Cal Ripken Jr. is a former professional shortstop and third baseman. After playing at Aberdeen High School, Ripken Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the second round of the 1978 MLB draft. He reached the major leagues in 1981 as a third baseman, but the following year, he was shifted to shortstop, his long-time position for Baltimore.
Ripken played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles. One of his position's most offensively productive players, Ripken compiled 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in during his career, and he won two Gold Glove Awards for his defense. He was a 19-time All-Star and was twice named AL MVP. Ripken holds the record for consecutive games played, 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable (as of 2021). He is considered as both one of the best third basemen and shortsop's in MLB history. In 2007, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 98.53% of votes, the sixth-highest election percentage ever.
After baseball, RIpken became involved in numerous business ventures. In 2013, Ripken sold the Augusta GreenJackets to Agon Sports & Entertainment. In 2015, Ripken sold the Charlotte Stone Crabs to Caribbean Baseball Initiative headed by Lou Schwechheimer.
