A Touch of Class in Cooperstown

If you are looking for a fun trip near the end of July, head to Cooperstown, New York. On July 29^th, one of the classiest players to ever don a baseball uniform will be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cal Ripken will go down as one of the best baseball players of all time. He certainly was one of my role models growing up. Ripken was the Rookie of the Year in 1982. He won the American League MVP in 1983 and 1991. He was a 19 time All Star and a 2-time Gold Glove award winner. The first word that comes to mind when I think of Cal Ripken is durability. Ripken played hurt, he played sick, he just flat out played. Everyday.

On September 6, 1995, Ripken broke the consecutive games played record held by Lou Gehrig. The record was an amazing 2,130 games played in a row. Not only did Ripken reach that mark; he added 500 games to it. Ripken now holds the record alone after playing 2,632 straight games. That is more than 16 straight seasons without missing a game! I doubt we will ever see anyone even approach this record. Miguel Tejada leads all current players with 1,080 consecutive games. For Tejada to achieve Ripken's mark, he would have to play every game until about midway though the 2016 season. At that point in his career, he would be 40 years old.

Gehrig surely would have added to his record if it weren't for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS - now commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of connection and death of motor neurons in the cortex and spinal cord. On May 2^nd, 1939, Gehrig asked manager Joe McCarthy to take him out of the lineup due to his rapid decline. He never played again. Gehrig passed away in 1941 at the age of 37.

Joining Ripken on induction day is Tony Gwynn. Both Gwynn and Ripken were elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, and both played for only one team their entire careers. Gwynn was a 15 time All Star and a 5-time Gold Glove award winner. He also led the National League in batting average 7 times. In 1994 he hit an incredible .394!