Overrated: Cal Ripken, Jr.
- Cal weeps
Things That Are Overrated: Installment #1
Cal Ripken, Jr.
The famous rant that has cost me much derision, scorn & contempt… I’m not sure what exactly being “much maligned” means but I think that I am that as well because of my stance on Cal Ripken. So, now I will write words that will surely come back to haunt me.
Cal Ripken is overrated. Not by me exactly… because I don’t rate Cal highly to start with, so the public perception of Cal Ripken, Jr. is much overrated. Here’s the case:
- 1) First, he is a Jr… Junior is ridiculous. Stand on your own. Don’t live off your father’s legacy. Be your own man.
- 2) He is a lifetime .276 hitter. Wow. Does that jump out at you as a Hall-of-Fame credential? Perhaps… if the person jacked 600 HRs.
- 3) He averaged about 20 home runs a season. Yawn.
- 4) He grounded into more double plays than any other player in major league history, so he does own that record. That’s something.
- 5) People will argue about his incredible fielding. This is the biggest joke going. He covered as much real estate at short-stop as I would with an ingrown toenail. His range was miniscule and therefore he didn’t boot the ball often. How impressive! The gold glove is another arbitrary award handed out on reputation.
- 6) The thing he did so well? He showed up for work every day for 16 seasons. Impressed? Don’t be. An average (not batting average… just average) guy showing up for work…Work that consists of 3 hours, 161 times a year. Approximately 480 hours a year. That’s like a 12 week year for most of the working populous. I’ll give him this … he was good at not getting hurt.
Don’t get me wrong. Cal was a good baseball player. Easily liked. Good role-model. Arguably, because of that durability and longevity thing, he is even probably a hall-of-famer. But clearly and obviously overrated.
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Well, sir while some of your information is correct and maybe very slightly arguable. The simple fact is much more than 480 hrs a year is not even close what Mr. Ripken and every other major athlete puts in for an athletic season. Someone that never misses work in 16 years is a fairytale in our current society… let alone in the sports arena…where we are filled with highly talented pre-madonnas. Someone who never misses when its “game time”, I’ll take them and make them a “great”. Dedication, Desire, & Heart….all come from this man’s accomplishments. Great Teams aren’t made up of “Mes” they are made up of people doing their assignment no matter the cost. Mr. Ripken paid his dues sir. To the tune that no other man historical or modern has ever replicated. With a team full of Cal Jr.’s, while the opposition may win the battles, Mr. Ripken’s team will win the war. Consistency is an art form that has been lost, because it is just too hard. We take great moments instead of great years. I’ll take the great years…a fragment of time or a mark in history? He sir is a mark in history.
For anyone reading this posting, please scroll to the bottom where you will see a number of links to various syracuse sites. Now that you have had a good laugh reading Glendon’s (and he made fun of Cal’s name) post, have another by looking at some syracuse stats.
Ok I coudln’t resist.
“Not to distract you with details”…That’s one of my favorite Garvinisms of all time
but, the numbers might tell a slightly different story that what you have portrayed as an over-rating. For example, if you take a look at the 21 HOF SS Ripken stacks up pretty well.
HOF Rankings BA OBP SLG H HR RBI RUNS
yount 10 10 7 3 3 6 3
ripken 12 9 5 2 2 2 2
I am not clear on how one would consider being number 2 in 2 of the 3 key batting categories as over-rated. OK, OK I’ll give you that our boy Yount had a lifetime BA that was .009 better than Ripken, but that really just makes him a humble after thought. Okk so who was number 1? Honus Wagner, but wait that was back in the early 1900’s. The game has changed radically since then, so I can’t say that I would call him the greatest of all time. I’l lhave to go with Ripken.
But wait, what about Paul Molitor. He had some good numbers. When you only actually play defense in 1/2 of your games it is likely that you would bat better.
I’m going to be forced to call this over-rating just a bunch of Brewer’s sour grapes.
I agree 100%. If you were drafting a team and could choose any position players of all time, are you really taking Cal? I didn’t think so. He would be in your top 15-20 at his own position. Not even as a utility infielder. So he played a few games in a row. So did Adrian Autry, but I wouldn’t put him in my top 1000 Syracuse players. Keep Jr and Red, I’ll take Bowa and Siock.
While I’m on it, I wouldn’t want Molitor either. He should be in the bottom of a fish tank…forever.
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