Cal Ripken Jr.

            
             is one person who has lived and experienced many great moments, but has also lived through troublesome times. Throughout his life he has tried to stay confident and strong.
             Cal was born on August 24, 1960 to his parents Violet and Cal Ripken Sr. (The Only Way I Know) His dad was a catcher at the time in the minor leagues, until he hurt his shoulder. Then he went to being a manager. This meant that the Ripken family had to make many moves during the time of Cal's childhood. Every summer the family would pack up and go to Florida for Spring Training. (The Only Way I Know).
             During his teenage years his family still moved quite often because of his dad's job, but when he got in high school that all came to an end. His dad became a scout for the Baltimore Orioles. He played for the varsity baseball team as a freshman. His dad continually pushed him to get better and better. "His dad gave him some advice: Get back to the basics." (My Life) During Cal Ripken's senior year he shot up to six feet two and 185 pounds. He had to decide whether to play in the majors or go to college. He ended up being drafted in the second round by the Baltimore Orioles. (My Life) Ripken was originally drafted as a pitcher, but made it to the big leagues for good as a third baseman in 1982. "He was then moved to shortstop by manager Earl Weaver on July 1, he finished the campaign as AL Rookie of the Year, hitting .264 with 28 HR and 93 RBI."(Baseballlibrary.com) He also began a streak of consecutive innings played that hit 8,243 over 904 games before ending September 14, 1987, and a consecutive games played streak which would last almost eleven more years. The next year he became the first player to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons. (Baseballlibrary.com) He set baseball's longest consecutive games streak officially ended at 2,632. .
             One of the all-time great shortstops, Cal Ripken, Jr.