Cal Ripken Jr.

At 64 years old, Cal Ripken Jr. has this physical status:

Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), shortened to "The Iron Man," is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles (1981-2001).

Ripken, one of his position's most offensively proficient players, hit 3,184 runs, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in his career, and he received two Gold Glove Awards for his defense.

He was a 19-time All-Star and twice named American League Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Ripken holds the record for consecutive games played, 2,632, beating Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130, which many regard as unbreakable.

In 2007, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, receiving 98.5 percent of votes, the fifth-highest election percentage ever. Born in Maryland, Ripken grew up around the country as his father, Cal Sr., was a player and mentor in the Orioles' team.

Ripken Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the second round of the 1978 MLB draft after playing at Aberdeen High School.

Early life

Ripken was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the son of Violet Roberta "Vi" Ripken (née Gross) and Cal Ripken Sr. He has German, English, and Irish roots. Despite the fact that the Ripkens referred to Aberdeen, Maryland, they were often on the move as a result of Cal Sr.'s coaching work with the Baltimore Orioles organization. Cal Sr. was in Topeka, Kansas, with one of his teams when his son was born. Cal Jr. grew up around baseball and got involved in it at a young age. Doug DeCinces, for example, was able to receive instruction from players on his father's squads. He also got advice from his father, who once remarked to his mother that his questions were better than those that were not. Ripken knew he wanted to be a ballplayer at the age of three, but Ripken "knew the game inside and out" at the age of 10. Billy Ripken and his brother Billy attended Aberdeen High School. They both played baseball; Cal also played soccer. Ellen and Fred are two of his siblings.

Ripken's second base was his first base in high school; his mentor, Don Morrison, said, "I was considering moving him to short, but I was uncertain if his arm strength was strong enough." Despite Morrison's trembling, Ripken converted to shortstop as a sophomore, combining strong fielding with a team-leading 10 runs batted in (RBI). The Aberdeen Eagles began using Ripken as a pitcher in his junior year, needing pitching assistance. While batting.339 with 21 hits and nine RBIs, he responded by striking out 55 batters in 46+13 innings pitched with three shutouts. For the first time since 1959, he was named the Harford County Most Valuable Player (MVP) while helping Aberdeen become county champions. Ripken had a good season during his senior year, boosting his batting average to.688 at one point and posting a 0.9 ERA for his first 26 innings. Ripken coached the state championship game against Thomas Stone High School in the playoffs. When Ripken said that rain was coming and that the game would be called and replayed because the Eagles had not yet played the fourth inning, the Eagles trailed 3–1. Ripken struck out 17, allowed two hits, and suspended a complete game as Aberdeen took the state championship. In the 7–1 victory, he threw 102 pitches.

Personal life

On Friday, November 13, 1987, Ripken married Kelly Geer at Towson United Methodist Church. Rachel and Ryan have a daughter, Rachel, and a boy, Ryan. After a one-year separation, Ripken and his wife Kelly announced their divorce on April 28, 2016. Laura S. Kiessling, née Kaufman, was married by Ripken in 2018, the first judge in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court at the time. She took his last name.

Ryan is also a baseball player and was drafted by the Orioles in the 20th round of Major League Baseball's 2012 amateur draft. He opted to attend college rather than attending college, starting his first year at the University of South Carolina in 2012. He came from Indian River Community College and was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 15th round of the Major League Baseball's 2014 amateur draft. After being released by the Nationals in March 2017, he signed with the Aberdeen Ironbirds, which were owned by his father, and played at a stadium that bores the family name. Ryan joined the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2018 and the Frederick Keys in 2019.

Violet Ripken, Ripken's mother, was kidnapped at gunpoint and recovered on July 24, 2012. She had been missing for a year before authorities revealed her abduction. In a parking lot at the NBRS Bank in Aberdeen, Maryland, she was approached by a man with a handgun on October 15, 2013. The man demanded her car but he fled after she triggered a key alarm. She was unharmed. The two incidents seemed unrelated, according to a Aberdeen Police spokesperson.

Ripken has published over thirty books. He published The Only Way I Know, his autobiography co-written with Mike Bryan, which was a New York Times Best Seller during the 1996 season. After his retirement, he wrote several more books, including Play Baseball the Ripken Way: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Fundamentals, which was also published by his brother Billy and co-authored by Larry Burke in 2005. Since being faced with too many young athletes who were being pressured unnecessarily by their parents, he wrote Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way, co-written with Rick Wolff in 2006. "I was wondering, 'This just adds too much stress on kids,'" he said. They need to find a healthy environment in which they can explore their sport without being exposed to any of these pressures. "I started thinking about it," I discovered we had more than enough to fill a book. In 2007, he published three books, starting with Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way, which was also written by Billy and co-authored by Scott Lowe, which discusses 50 practice drills, goals setting for youth, and effective practice planning. He published two more books in April and September: Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Makes the Difference, co-written with Donald T. Phillips, and The Longest Season, a children's book about the Orioles' 1988 season, published in May. In 2011, he co-authored Hothead, a children's fiction book co-written with Kevin Cowherd, which was also a New York Times bestseller. In addition,, he has been writing a weekly youth sports advice newspaper column in the Baltimore Sun since 2005.

Ripken has written several books in addition to his writing. Harvey Rosenfeld published Iron Man: The Cal Ripken Jr. Story in 1995. A Tribute later in 2007, Jeff Seidel published Iron Man: Cal Ripken Jr. Lois Nicholson's children's biography of Ripken, Cal Ripken Jr., Quiet Hero, was published in 1993. In addition, Ripken has been the subject of scholarly journals looking at the effects of his career.

Ripken owns several minor league baseball teams. In 2002, he purchased the Utica Blue Sox of the New York–Penn League and moved them to Aberdeen, renaming them the Aberdeen IronBirds. The team is a member of the Ripken Football Association, and plays at Ripken Stadium during the short season. He revealed on June 28, 2005, he purchased the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League, the San Francisco Giants' single-A affiliate. Ripken bought the Vero Beach Devil Rays of the Single-Advance Florida State League at the end of the 2008 season and renamed them the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Ripken expressed an interest in buying the Baltimore Orioles if new owner Peter Angelos were to sell the team on January 10, 2007. As of 2013, he had yet to be questioned about the possibility of buying the team. Although Ripken did not buy them, he was quoted in a July 17, 2010 Associated Press story as saying he would return to the Orioles part-time as an advisor and full-time after his son graduated from high school in 2012.

Ripken began working as a studio analyst for TBS Sports in October 2007. As of 2013, he continued to serve in the role.

Ripken served on ZeniMax Media's board of directors until 2021. Ripken's Real Baseball, a hugely multiplayer online sports game market, debuted on February 28, 2008.

Ripken sold the Augusta GreenJackets to Agon Sports & Entertainment in 2013.

Ripken sold the Charlotte Stone Crabs to the Caribbean Baseball Initiative, headed by Lou Schwechheimer, in 2015.

The Ripken Experience is a series of sporting epics. In Aberdeen, Maryland, the first opened. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, there is now a second location with nine baseball fields. It was opened in 2006 and cost $26 million, which was $7 million more than ever invested since then. In summer 2016, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, would open a third location.

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Minor league career

In the second round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft, the Baltimore Orioles drafted Ripken in the second round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft, ranked 48th overall. Ripken was chosen with the Orioles' predetermined draft pick, not a forfeited pick from the Boston Red Sox, despite a SABR article about Dick Drago in the 1977 re-entry draft. After Ripken, the Orioles would select Cecil Whitehead with the pick they received from Boston two picks. "When the colleges first came, dad and I talked about mostly whether I wanted to pursue a career in baseball." If I had the ability, I'd have tried it, and if it didn't work out, start over in college at 25 or 26." Ripken played both pitcher and shortstop in high school; in fact, the Orioles were the only team not particularly concerned about his pitching abilities. The Orioles decided to start playing shortstop in the minor leagues, realizing it would be quicker for him to return to pitching if necessary than for him to start hitting again.

The Orioles drafted Ripken to the rookie Appalachian League's Bluefield Orioles to begin his minor league career. He batted.264, no home runs, and 24 RBIs, but failed to make the league's all-rookie team. Ripken made it to the Florida State League's Single-A Miami Orioles in 1979. "Cal was having some issues at short notice, so I decided to transfer Ripken to third base," Miami manager Lance Nichols said. In the 12th inning against Gary Abone of the West Palm Beach Expos on July 2, Ripken scored his first professional home run, a game-winner. When playing in all 105 of Miami's games, Ripken batted.303, scored five home runs, led the league with 28 doubles, and had 54 RBIs. He was named an All-Star after the season. Despite three home runs, Ripken earned him a brief call up to the Charlotte Orioles of the Double-A Southern League; he batted.180 in a month with them.

Ripken's career began in 1980 with Charlotte. Ripken's manager, Jimmy Williams, had hoped to set the team's home run record, and he did not disappoint. He had 25 home runs at season's end, surpassing the previous record by four runs. He had 28 doubles, 78 RBIs, and a.492 slugging percentage. While assisting Charlotte in winning the Southern League championship, Ripken was named All-Star.

Ripken was the first addition to Baltimore's 40-man roster in 1981. He attended spring training with the Orioles but was later released by the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League to begin the season. Ripken played in the longest professional baseball game at Rochester. Ripken got off third base and played all 33 innings against the Pawtucket Red Sox (which also featured Wade Boggs, a future Hall of Famer) in a game that took three days to complete. Ripken hit 23 home runs for Rochester, while his batting average of 75 RBIs in 114 games was batting.288 with 75 RBIs. He was named International League Rookie of the Year.

Major league career

The Orioles had intended to keep Ripken in Rochester until 1981, but in the second half of the 1981 season, they called him up on August 7. Earl Weaver wanted Ripken to take over the role of utility infielder in place of Wayne Krenchicki, who had been sent down to make room for Ripken on the roster. In the 12th inning of a game against the Kansas City Royals, he made his debut as a pinch runner for Ken Singleton on August 10. The Orioles won after Ripken scored on a hit by John Lowenstein, giving the Orioles the victory. Dennis Lamp of the Chicago White Sox was his first major league hit in six days. The Orioles finished fourth in the second half of the season, with Ripken batting.182 without an extra-base hit.

Ripken played for the Orioles in 1982 when the team traded DeCinces before the season began. In his first at-bat of the Orioles' 1982 season against Dennis Leonard of Kansas City as part of a three-hit outing. However, he slowed to begin the season; his batting average was.118 through May 1. Ripken sought help from several Orioles players and coaches, but Reggie Jackson's advice was most helpful: "Just know what you can do, not what everyone else tells you." Ripken's season ended well for the remainder of the season. Ripken did not participate in the second game of a doubleheader on May 29, the first time he missed a game until 1998. Weaver decided to permanently move Ripken to shortstop on July 1, realizing that finding a shortstop with a decent armour was more difficult than finding a third baseman who could hit. "You never know," Weaver said. Rip could be a good shortstop." Ripken won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2008 after hitting 28 home runs this year. The Orioles played for the playoffs until losing to the Milwaukee Brewers on the final day of the season, aided by Ripken.

Ripken's career soared even more in 1983, with 1984 marking what would be one of his best years of his career. He had a good season all season, winning the first of 19 All-Star berths. Rick Dempsey of roommate Rick Dempsey wrote this review of Ripken's performance: "Obviously there were pitchers who faced him in 1982 and made or attempted to make changes against him." But Cal was steadfast and continued to do their best to minimize their changes." Ripken had set Orioles' records for RBIs by a shortstop (102) and all players (211). He led the major leagues in hits and doubles (47) while still leading the AL with 121 runs scored. As a shortstop, he led the league in fielding percentage (.970), assists (534), and double plays (111), but he did not win the Gold Glove Award. He was named AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 2012 season, hitting.318 with 27 home runs. Ripken was the first player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards in consecutive seasons in a row.

For the first time since the Orioles won the AL East in 1983, Ripken made the playoffs for the first time. In the 1983 World Series, the Orioles defeated the White Sox in the ALCS before defeating the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. Ripken's career began in.167 with no homers and only one RBI. Despite not playing a lot in the World Series with his bat, he did a number of key plays defensively at shortstop, including the final out of the series on a Garry Maddox lineout out in Game 5.

Ripken made a four-year deal for "about" $1 million a year, the most money the Orioles had ever offered to a player of his age. He had been chosen to the All-Star Game once more. He had another good season, batting.304 with 27 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 103 runs scored. Despite losing a Gold Glove, he set an AL record with 583 assists. The Orioles had a winning run, but they only finished in fifth place.

In 1985, Ripken's streak came to an end. In the second game of the season, he strained his ankle on a fielding play against the Texas Rangers. Ripken ended the game, but Dr. Charles Silverstein ordered him to rest for 24 hours afterward. However, the Orioles had an off day after that game, and Ripken was back for their next game. Ripken was supervised by his father until Cal Sr. filled in between Joe Altobelli and Weaver for one game on June 14. Ripken finished the year batting.282 with 26 home runs and 110 RBIs, while still leading the league with 123 double plays and 286 putouts.

Ripken had a 17-game hitting streak from June 1986 to August. The Orioles had a difficult season in Baltimore last season, finishing last for the first time in their tenure. Weaver, in a speech to the team before the All-Star break, chastised the healthy players on the team for not hitting, except Ripken. "Do you know the kid hasn't missed an infield workout all year?" says the coach. Now that he's going to the All-Star Game, Weaver said. He batted.282 with 81 RBIs, downplayed a little because the Orioles went for 110 fewer runs than the year before. With 25 runs, he became the first Oriole other than Eddie Murray since 1979 to lead the team in home runs.

Cal Ripken Sr. replaced Weaver as the Orioles' general manager at the start of the 1987 season. Ripken Sr. was the first manager to write two of his sons into the lineup card when both Ripken Jr. and his brother, Billy Ripken, played in the same game on July 11. Ripken Jr. was forced to miss the game on September 14, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium later in the season. In the eighth inning, Ron Washington was brought to a halt, snapping Ripken's streak of 8,243 consecutive innings played. "I had to do it sometime," Ripken Sr. described the streak as a "burden" after the game, adding, "I had to do it sometime." Ripken's string of consecutive innings streaks hasn't been established, but historians have unchallenged Ripken's feats. Ripken retired at a career-low.252 in the year, but he still hit 27 home runs, had 98 RBIs, and walked a career-high 81 times. He also had a.982 fielding percentage.

In 1988, the Orioles considered having Ripken replace Ray Knight at third base, but they decided to keep him at shortstop. Ripken Sr. was fired and replaced by Frank Robinson after the Orioles started the season 0–6. The Orioles started the year off 0-21, with Ripken's slumping as well as the season's opener. He finished the year batting just.264, but he led major league shortstops with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. In the second inning, Will Clark had a memorable appearance and strong throw to dismiss Will Clark in the All-Star Game, making a superb catch and a quick throw. It was dubbed "the evening's jewel," by Ken Rosenthal of The Baltimore Sun.

Ripken had signed a three-year deal with an option for a fourth year, preventing him from being a free agent at the end of the season. Billy and Billy played seven hits against the Boston Red Sox on August 2, 1989, with Cal Jr. providing a game-winning hit late in the game. That was an AL record for hits by brothers; Lloyd and Paul Waner, who had eight children on June 25, 1932, held the big league record. He defeated Steve Garvey in his 1,208th straight game, placing third on baseball's all-time list behind Lou Gehrig and Everett Scott. Despite this success, Ray Robinson of The New York Times wrote, "Few regarded Ripken... or someone else as the Iron Horse's successor." The Orioles, who had three straight losing seasons, stayed in the playoffs for the majority of the year before losing in the final week of the season. Ripken's death was felt in September as he had only seven hits in his final 55 at bats. In 1989, he batted.257, but his fielding was particularly impressive; he played 47 games in a row without losing an error and finished the year with a.990 fielding percentage.

Ripken's offensively suffered in 1990, batting.209 in his first 59 games. However, he delighted players and fans with his fielding throughout the year. He set a Baltimore record for the most consecutive errors by a shortstop on June 12, beating Mark Belanger's record for the most straight chances by a shortstop. He played 67 games straight before suffering what was originally scored an error on June 26. However, official scorer Bill Steka ruled the mistake was really Mike Devereaux's fault and changed the call the next day. Ripken continued his streak to 95 games, breaking the Major League record for shortstops and establishing the AL record for infielders other than third basemen. He also advanced to second place in consecutive games played on June 12. The day came at Memorial Stadium; however, the fans booed him as a result of his offensive woes. Ripken finished the year batting.250, leading the Orioles with 21 home runs, 84 RBIs, 150 runs, and 78 runs. With 28 doubles, he and Billy tied for the team's lead. In 1990, Ripken made just three mistakes, compared to the previous record of six in a season. Despite his fieldwork success, Ozzie Guillén, who had made 17 mistakes, was honoured with the Gold Glove Award. Some believed Ripken should have won the award; Tim Kurkjian called the vote a "crime," and Bobby Valentine said he was "embarrassed by my peers' conduct."

In 1991, Ripken had a career year. His batting average was.388, making him the first shortstop to lead the league in average since Lou Boudreau in 1947. He finished the season off by hitting.323 with a career-high 34 home runs and 114 RBIs. In addition, Ripken made a career-high six bases, stole a career-high six bases, and had five triples in his career's lowest strikeout rate and fewest strikeouts in a season with 600 or more plate appearances. He was the first Major League shortstop to reach 30 home runs or more hits, as well as 40 or more doubles.

Ripken received his second AL MVP award, his first Gold Glove Award, and the All-Star Game MVP Award (going two for three runs, with seven consecutive home runs off Dennis Marty), the Gatorade Home Run Derby Championship (AP) Player of the Year Award and the Sporting News Player of the Year Award. Maury Wills was the only other MLB player to win all those awards in the same season, excluding the Home Run Derby. Dennis Martez, former Orioles and then Montreal Expos pitcher Dennis Martnez, was the defining moment of American League's 4–2 victory in the 1991 Major League All-Star Game. Ripken was the first entrant to win both the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game MVP awards in the same year. He was the first to win the award in the American League while playing for a sub-.500 club; the Orioles finished in sixth place last year, with a 67–95 record. Ripken was only the second player to be named a league MVP on a losing team; Andre Dawson was the first in 1987, winning the NL MVP with the Chicago Cubs.

Memorial Stadium, the Orioles' home since 1954, hosted its last MLB game against the Tigers at the end of the 1991 season. Ripken was the last Oriole to bat at the stadium, going to a double-play against Detroit's Frank Tanana on October 6, 1991.

Ripken and the Oriolos attempted to find a new deal during the 1992 season. Ripken had batting slumps throughout the season. "I don't like to make excuses for the fact that I wasn't hitting," he said after the season, but I was distracted... With me, I just felt like the Orioles were playing mind games. It was either correct or wrong, and it was both both frustrating and frustrating." Ripken signed a five-year, $30.5 million contract on August 22, the first in baseball history at the time. Ripken's slumps continued, and he was even booed by Oriole fans late in the season. With career-lows in home runs (14) and RBIs (72) he ended the year batting.251 with career-lows in home runs (14) and RBIs (72). The Orioles waited for the playoffs for a majority of the year, but they were not guaranteed until September 27. Despite this, he did win his second Gold Glove Award.

For the first time in Ripken's career, he was the only Ripken in the Orioles' family, as the Orioles fired his father as coach and moved Billy to Texas. Ripken's slump began at the start of the 1993 season, but he was able to get out of it in May by adopting a taller batting stance. Some people have chastised him for playing every day due to his early-season woes. "I'm crazy," Bobby Bonds said about Ripken's playing every day. "If I were his boss, he'd be out of place." Only Ripken, according to Oriole coach Davey Lopes, could determine whether or not he needed a day off. Ripken suffered his knee during a brawl against the Seattle Mariners on June 6, and was worried for the majority of the next day that he would be unable to participate. However, the knee felt stronger at gametime, extending the streak. During a game against Wilson lvarez of the White Sox, Ripken achieved a personal record on July 10, when he reached his 2,000th career hit. Most managers and some sportswriters believed he should have been ruled out of the All-Star Game in Baltimore this year due to Ripken's flops; however, the fans gave him more than two million votes to guarantee his spot. Ripken's hitting improved after the All-Star break, when he batted.300 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs for the remainder of the season. With 24 home runs and 90 RBIs, he finished the year batting.257.

The Elias Sports Bureau informed the Orioles that Ripken had surpassed Ernie Banks for most home runs as a shortstop before the 1994 season, defeating Scott Erickson on July 15 in a 278th game. "I'm really glad that he broke this record because it gives me the opportunity to come back and be remembered," Ripken said at a dinner on February 9. Ripken started the season strong, batting.340 with 19 RBIs through April. The Orioles rallied from a 5–0 deficit to defeat the Brewers 13–5. Ripken had six RBIs, including his 300th home run against Teddy Higuera. He played in his 2,000th game in a row on August 1 at the Metrodome, defeating the Twins 1–0. Ripken batted.315 with 13 home runs and 75 RBIs before the 1994-19 Major League Baseball strike ended the season.

Many baseball fans inside and outside of the United States tuned into ESPN to watch Ripken beat Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record for consecutive games played (2,130 games). The game between the Orioles and the California Angels was still one of the network's most watched baseball games (baseball's most watched game was Game 7 of the 1986 World Series). Rachel and Ryan, Cal's children, threw out the ceremonial first balls. Both President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were at the game, and Clinton was with the commentators on ESPN for the Orioles' half of the fourth inning. Lou Gehrig's disease was discovered at the Johns Hopkins University in order to raise funds for the Johns Hopkins University to investigate Lou Gehrig's illness. Ripken's streak on the B&O Warehouse's right-field wall at the stadium's right-field wall changed from 2130 to 2131 when the game became official after the fifth inning.

Ripken received a standing ovation from the audience, the opponents, and the umpires who lasted more than 22 minutes, one of the longest standing ovations for any athlete; ESPN did not offer a commercial break during the entire ovation. Ripken did a lap around the entire Camden Yards, warning the supporters that they should shake hands and give them high-fives during the ovation.

There was a lengthy reception after the game concluded, with a number of speeches from dignitaries including Joe DiMaggio, a teammate of Gehrig. "Tonight, I stand here, overwhelmed, as my name is linked to the great and brave Lou Gehrig," Ripken said in his address. I'm completely humbled to hear our names spoken in the same breath. This year has been amazing. I've been to ballparks around the country. People showed their kindness to me, but more importantly, they displayed their love of baseball. From baseball fans around the world, I give my respect to them. I want to make sure you know how I feel tonight. I didn't grow up in Baltimore, Texas, but also the possibility of being a Baltimore Oriole. I want to thank you, Baltimore's fans, from the bottom of my heart for all of your help over the years. "This is the best place to play."

Ripken said, "Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro pulled me out of the dugout and said, 'We'll never get the game off, if you don't do a lap around this thing." I thought it was a ridiculous idea, but as I started to do it, the 50,000th anniversary of the nation's greatest celebration became more one-on-one and very personal. "I started seeing people I knew... Those were the people that had been around the ballpark all those years, and it was certainly a wonderful human experience."

Ripken, who hit.262 in 1995 with 17 home runs and 88 RBIs.

Ripken started the 1996 season slowly, but as the season progressed, his playing improved. Ripken, who was playing in his 2,216th birthday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on June 14, set a new record of consecutive games played. Sachio Kinugasa of Japan had set the record. Kinugasa was at the game to watch Ripken break his record. Ripken was moved to third base as an experiment on July 15, with Manny Alexander taking the shortstop position. Alexander was told that the change would be permanent, but he was recalled to shortstop after Alexander had one hit in his six games at shortstop. Ripken played in 163 games during the regular season in 1996, batting.278 with 26 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a.980 fielding percentage at shortstop. For the first time in 13 years, the Orioles won the AL Wild Card for the first time in 13 years. Baltimore defeated Cleveland in four games in the AL Division Series, with Ripken batting.444 in the series. In the ALCS, his average dropped to.250. The Orioles were defeated by the Yankees in five games.

Mike Bordick, a free-agent shortstop for the Oakland Athletics, was signed by the Orioles in 1997 and moved Ripken back to third base permanently. The move was not made because of Ripken's errors, according to GM Pat Gillick, but because more defensive options were available at shortstop than at third base. Had Ripken not intended to return to third base, the Orioles would have drafted Tim Naehring instead.

Following the 1997 season, Ripken was supposed to be a free agent, but the Orioles announced him at the start of the year. He suffered from nerve injury during the season, which prevented him from being able to sit on the bench at certain times. However, he didn't miss a game and batted.270 with 17 home runs and 84 RBIs as the Orioles advanced to the playoffs again, this time by winning the AL East. As the Orioles defeated the Mariners in four games in the ALDS, Ripken batted.438. In the ALCS, he batted.348 runs and hit a home run, but the Orioles lost in six games to Cleveland.

In 1998, Ripken batted.271 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs. Ripken stopped playing at 2,632 games on September 20, his last home game of the season against the Yankees, breaking Gehrig's previous record of 5,632 games. Ryan Minor, the rookie's third baseman, started in his position, at first assuming it was a rookie prank. The fans, his teammates, and the visiting Yankees were among the first to know that Ripken was not playing during batting practice, giving Ripken an ovation after the game's first outing was recorded. Ripken later announced that he ended the streak at the end of the season to prevent any offseason questions regarding his playing status and to come to an end on his own terms while he could. Ripken returned to the lineup for the final seven games of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox on the road.

Ripken had his best batting average of his career in 1999, ranking at.340. Despite being out of town for both the start and the end of the 1999 season, he also mourned the death of his father and former coach Cal Ripken Sr. after just a few days before 1999's opening game. He had his best individual game of his career, going 6-for-6 off John Smoltz, tying a club record of 13 total bases against the Atlanta Braves on June 13. Against Rolando Arrojo of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he recorded his 400th home run of his career on September 3.

Ripken's 1999 season came to an end due to injury when he was just nine hits away from joining the 3,000 hit club. In the first game against the Twins at the Metrodome in April 15, he singled off reliever Héctor Carrasco; Eddie Murray, another team member and the Orioles' first-base coach, was the first to congratulate him. Ripken had a good night at the plate, with three hits, the third of which was a record. Ripken was out of action for most of July and August due to a back injury. He was accepted to the All-Star Game but he was forced to cancel due to the injury, marking the first All-Star Game that he has missed since his rookie season. Ripken batted.256 in 83 games (his lowest total since 1992) with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs.

Ripken announced in June 2001 that he would retire at the end of the season. In the All-Star Game at Safeco Field in Seattle, he was voted the starting third baseman. Shortstop Alex Rodriguez (unknowingly foreshadowing his own destiny) stayed on trading positions with third baseman Ripken for the first inning so Ripken could play shortstop as he did for the majority of his career, in honor of Ripken's success and stature in the game. Ripken also set the most MLB All-Star Game appearances at shortstop after that move. Ripken made his first plate appearance in the third inning and was greeted with a standing ovation. Ripken was then homered from Chan Ho Park's first pitch. Ripken received multiple All-Star Game MVP awards (1991 and 2001) and was the first player to be named All-Star Game MVP in two separate decades.

In late September, the Orioles planned to retire Ripken's #8 in a ceremony before the final home game of the 2001 season. Ripken's last game was supposed to be played at Yankee Stadium but the September 11, 2001, attacks resulted in the cancellation of a week's worth of games. The games that were postponed were incorporated into the season's schedule. Since all of the Orioles' games were home, this meant a lot for Ripken's last game to Oriole Park, much to the delight of Oriole fans. Ripken died in the bottom of the ninth inning on October 6, on-deck. Brady Anderson, a longtime Baltimore teammate, was swung and missing on a 3–2 count to end the game. Ripken delivered a speech thanking the fans for their help over the past 20 seasons. Ripken's final season was better than he had been over the previous two seasons as he appeared in 128 games. He batted a career-low.239 with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs.

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