SEPTEMBER 5, 1995 | BALTIMORE, MARYLAND • Drama followed Cal Ripken the summer of ’95. On this date that year he tied Lou Gehrig‘s 2,130 consecutive games played streak. He received a 5 minute standing ovation from his hometown Camden Yards crowd when the game became official in the bottom of the 5th inning. If that wasn’t dramatic enough, Ripken homered the following inning.
The 35-year old shortstop, who’s been playing every single game on the Baltimore Orioles schedule for 14 years, would go on to play almost three more full seasons before ending the streak September 20, 1998 having played in 2,632 consecutive games. The only active player (as of this writing) among the top 15 in consecutive games played is Miguel Tejada, another former Oriole. Tejada was not quite half-way there when his streak ended at 1,152 games in a row. He only had about seven more years to go without missing a game.
Think Ripken’s streak will ever be broken?
Contributing sources:
Consecutive games played
September 5, 1995 box score/play-by-play http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL199509050.shtml
New York Times, Cal Ripken
