10 Reasons Why Cal Ripken Jr Is The Most Overrated Baseball Player of All Time

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throwbacksinsf

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The Sport Records Thread reminded me why I never really liked Cal Ripken Jr going back to my childhood. Fora guy who is absolutely beloved by baseball purists, I never thought he was that good at all. Let's take a look at his stats:[table][tr][td]Cal Ripken, Jr. Hitting Stats[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Yr[/td] [td]Team[/td] [td]G[/td] [td]AB[/td] [td]R[/td] [td]H[/td] [td]2B[/td] [td]3B[/td] [td]HR[/td] [td]GS[/td] [td]RBI[/td] [td]BB[/td] [td]IBB[/td] [td]SO[/td] [td]SH[/td] [td]SF[/td] [td]HBP[/td] [td]GIDP[/td] [td]AVG[/td] [td]OBP[/td] [td]SLG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1981[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]23[/td] [td]39[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]4[/td] [td].128[/td] [td].150[/td] [td].128[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1982[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]160[/td] [td]598[/td] [td]90[/td] [td]158[/td] [td]32[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]28[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]93[/td] [td]46[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]95[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]16[/td] [td].264[/td] [td].317[/td] [td].475[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1983[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]663[/td] [td]121[/td] [td]211[/td] [td]47[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]27[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]102[/td] [td]58[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]97[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]24[/td] [td].318[/td] [td].371[/td] [td].517[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1984[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]641[/td] [td]103[/td] [td]195[/td] [td]37[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]27[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]86[/td] [td]71[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]89[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]16[/td] [td].304[/td] [td].374[/td] [td].510[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1985[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]161[/td] [td]642[/td] [td]116[/td] [td]181[/td] [td]32[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]26[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]110[/td] [td]67[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]68[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]32[/td] [td].282[/td] [td].347[/td] [td].469[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1986[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]627[/td] [td]98[/td] [td]177[/td] [td]35[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]25[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]81[/td] [td]70[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]60[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]19[/td] [td].282[/td] [td].355[/td] [td].461[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1987[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]624[/td] [td]97[/td] [td]157[/td] [td]28[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]27[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]98[/td] [td]81[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]77[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]11[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]19[/td] [td].252[/td] [td].333[/td] [td].436[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1988[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]161[/td] [td]575[/td] [td]87[/td] [td]152[/td] [td]25[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]23[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]81[/td] [td]102[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]69[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]10[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]10[/td] [td].264[/td] [td].372[/td] [td].431[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1989[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]646[/td] [td]80[/td] [td]166[/td] [td]30[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]21[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]93[/td] [td]57[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]72[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]22[/td] [td].257[/td] [td].317[/td] [td].401[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1990[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]161[/td] [td]600[/td] [td]78[/td] [td]150[/td] [td]28[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]21[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]84[/td] [td]82[/td] [td]18[/td] [td]66[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]12[/td] [td].250[/td] [td].341[/td] [td].415[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1991[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]650[/td] [td]99[/td] [td]210[/td] [td]46[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]34[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]114[/td] [td]53[/td] [td]15[/td] [td]46[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]9[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]19[/td] [td].323[/td] [td].374[/td] [td].566[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1992[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]637[/td] [td]73[/td] [td]160[/td] [td]29[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]72[/td] [td]64[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]50[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]13[/td] [td].251[/td] [td].323[/td] [td].366[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1993[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]641[/td] [td]87[/td] [td]165[/td] [td]26[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]24[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]90[/td] [td]65[/td] [td]19[/td] [td]58[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]17[/td] [td].257[/td] [td].329[/td] [td].420[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1994[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]112[/td] [td]444[/td] [td]71[/td] [td]140[/td] [td]19[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]13[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]75[/td] [td]32[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]41[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]17[/td] [td].315[/td] [td].364[/td] [td].459[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1995[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]144[/td] [td]550[/td] [td]71[/td] [td]144[/td] [td]33[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]17[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]88[/td] [td]52[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]59[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]15[/td] [td].262[/td] [td].324[/td] [td].422[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1996[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]163[/td] [td]640[/td] [td]94[/td] [td]178[/td] [td]40[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]26[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]102[/td] [td]59[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]78[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]28[/td] [td].278[/td] [td].341[/td] [td].466[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1997[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]162[/td] [td]615[/td] [td]79[/td] [td]166[/td] [td]30[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]17[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]84[/td] [td]56[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]73[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]10[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]19[/td] [td].270[/td] [td].331[/td] [td].402[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1998[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]161[/td] [td]601[/td] [td]65[/td] [td]163[/td] [td]27[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]61[/td] [td]51[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]68[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]9[/td] [td].271[/td] [td].331[/td] [td].389[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1999[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]86[/td] [td]332[/td] [td]51[/td] [td]113[/td] [td]27[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]18[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]57[/td] [td]13[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]31[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]14[/td] [td].340[/td] [td].368[/td] [td].584[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2000[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]83[/td] [td]309[/td] [td]43[/td] [td]79[/td] [td]16[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]15[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]56[/td] [td]23[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]37[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]10[/td] [td].256[/td] [td].310[/td] [td].453[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2001[/td] [td]Orioles[/td] [td]128[/td] [td]477[/td] [td]43[/td] [td]114[/td] [td]16[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]68[/td] [td]26[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]63[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]9[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]15[/td] [td].239[/td] [td].276[/td] [td].361[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Career[/td] [td]G[/td] [td]AB[/td] [td]R[/td] [td]H[/td] [td]2B[/td] [td]3B[/td] [td]HR[/td] [td]GS[/td] [td]RBI[/td] [td]BB[/td] [td]IBB[/td] [td]SO[/td] [td]SH[/td] [td]SF[/td] [td]HBP[/td] [td]GIDP[/td] [td]AVG[/td] [td]OBP[/td] [td]SLG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]21 Years[/td] [td]3,001[/td] [td]11,551[/td] [td]1,647[/td] [td]3,184[/td] [td]603[/td] [td]44[/td] [td]431[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]1,695[/td] [td]1,129[/td] [td]107[/td] [td]1,305[/td] [td]10[/td] [td]127[/td] [td]66[/td] [td]350[/td] [td].276[/td] [td].340[/td] [td].447[/td] [/tr][/table]
At first glance those numbers look quite impressive, right? But let's break it down:

1. 1991 was arguably his best season. And even then, it's not one of those seasons that jumps out. It was also the only season he ever hit more than 30HRs.
2. He had eight seasons where he hit BELOW 20 HRs. Yes, 40% of his career.
3. He only hit .300 or better 5x in his 20 yr career. A better way of putting it is he batted below .300 15x. He's a career .276 hitter.
4. He had 3000 career hits. But considering he never missed a game in 20+ seasons and averaged 600+ at bats every year, he better have 3000 hits.
5. 431 career HRs is impressive but again, not so much when you consider #4. Career slugging % of .447 which was a dime a dozen, even back then.
6. He had 200+ hits in a season only twice, in 83 & 91. He had 195 hits in 84. He averaged only 151 hits/yr over the other 17 seasons.
7. Drove in 100+ RBIs only FOUR times in his career. And if I remember correctly he hit in the middle of the lineup most of that time.
8. Only won the Gold Glove 2x
9. By comparison, his numbers are very close to Fred McGriff's, if not worse,but anyone will tell you they are world's apart.
10. 19x All Star appearances and 8x Silver Slugger award winner. Largely because he played in an era where the SS position was not known for power numbers orrun producers.

Basically what all this means to me is he got in the HOF because: 1) he broke the Iron Man streak and 2) he put up the best #s for a SS in his era, butclearly not the greatest #s overall.

Give me some time and I will give you a list of players with better numbers who are NOT in the HOF.
 
He revolutionized the position, a player such as himself were non-existent for his position, and he played excellent defense and was the leader/face of thefranchise (made them relevant).

Numbers don't tell the entire story dude, I hate the fantasy league era we live in today...people think they know what they are talking about just bylooking at someone's numbers.
 
Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

He revolutionized the position, a player such as himself were non-existent for his position, and he played excellent defense and was the leader/face of the franchise (made them relevant).

Numbers don't tell the entire story dude, I hate the fantasy league era we live in today...people think they know what they are talking about just by looking at someone's numbers.
Click to expand...

�exactly.� and how is he overrated?� like people consider him the best SS ever or something.
 
Can anyone give me some names of any 2 Orioles that played with him during his career? I mean I can think of Brady Anderson and Palmeiro but who else was everon that team? And I can't recall too many people placing Cal on any all-time lists. Most don't even have him in the top 5 or even 10 of best shortstopsand that's not including modern day players. I think he's looked at as one of the most important players (not best) in baseball history because afterthe strike he turned a lot of people including casual fans back on to baseball.
 
Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

He revolutionized the position, a player such as himself were non-existent for his position, and he played excellent defense and was the leader/face of the franchise (made them relevant).

Numbers don't tell the entire story dude, I hate the fantasy league era we live in today...people think they know what they are talking about just by looking at someone's numbers.
Click to expand...
If it's not about the numbers, then what? Cuz he only won the World Series once. He only won a Gold Glove twice. He benefitted greatly by playingin an era where SS were awful at the plate. It's like the pretty girl who hangs with a group of ugly ducks. She is made to look that much better. But sayhis career started in 95 against the likes of Jeter, ARod, Tejada...he would NOT be mentioned with them by default.
 
Originally Posted by wildKYcat

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

He revolutionized the position, a player such as himself were non-existent for his position, and he played excellent defense and was the leader/face of the franchise (made them relevant).

Numbers don't tell the entire story dude, I hate the fantasy league era we live in today...people think they know what they are talking about just by looking at someone's numbers.
Click to expand...

�exactly.� and how is he overrated?� like people consider him the best SS ever or something.
Click to expand...

�
I don't think he's the best either. But name another retired SS better than him. Not many come to mind, at least in popularity.
 
when i said, "exactly" up there when quoting Mez, i was referring to him revolutionizing the position...Cal was a big dude out there playing SS. butbaseball is a stat driven sport, where #'s do mean a lot. but just because he was "beloved" by baseball purists doesn't mean he wasoverrated. if the point of this post was to let people know that Cal Ripken's not the best SS ever...well, i would like to think people knew that. i'm just trying to figure out what you're saying.

he's still one of my favorite players ever, and his record will NEVER be broken. NEVER. i think Jeff Francouer had the current longest game streak around157 and he took a day off last week.
 
Originally Posted by ThrowbacksInSF

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

He revolutionized the position, a player such as himself were non-existent for his position, and he played excellent defense and was the leader/face of the franchise (made them relevant).

Numbers don't tell the entire story dude, I hate the fantasy league era we live in today...people think they know what they are talking about just by looking at someone's numbers.
Click to expand...
If it's not about the numbers, then what? Cuz he only won the World Series once. He only won a Gold Glove twice. He benefitted greatly by playing in an era where SS were awful at the plate.
Click to expand...

your answer is RIGHT THERE, during HIS TIME, he was the best. you cant fault him for playing a position where OTHERS around him werent that productive.Legendary status lies in that given point in time, not how you relate to it or try to compare it to where we are now, thats your mistake in analyzing this. itslike looking at a lot of these old 1900s players legends and saying they were overrated; if youre comparing them to the present, then yes, but back then...unstoppable.

youre looking at things all #%#% up, skewed my friend.
 
10. 19x All Star appearances and 8x Silver Slugger award winner. Largely because he played in an era where the SS position was not known for power numbers or run producers.
Basically what all this means to me is he got in the HOF because: 1) he broke the Iron Man streak and 2) he put up the best #s for a SS in his era, but clearly not the greatest #s overall.

I think you disproved your point with #10. SS were not known for power numbers and great run producers when he was playing so those numbers arepretty decent. And it s kinda sounds like you are putting the fact that he broke the Iron Man streak in a bad light.

I see where you're coming from but I think it's a little bit of a reach as well.
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The problem is he's regarded as one of the greatest of all time, not just the greatest SS. That Holiday Inn commercial is a good example. People worshipthis guy. A casual fan would think he hit 600+ HRs or something based on how much hype he gets. The truth is he wasn't the greatest at the plate, hewasn't the greatest with the glove, and he sure as hell didn't help his team win because those B'more teams of the late 80s and 90s were garbage.So really what was he good for? To me, you can't say, "He's one of the greatest" and then in the next breath say, "oh, he was good for ashortstop." If they're gonna say he's one of the greats then let's compare him to the greats.
 
Originally Posted by Proshares

And it s kinda sounds like you are putting the fact that he broke the Iron Man streak in a bad light.
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Yeah I think that an overrated record too. Cuz basically anyone who stays healthy that long can break the record. It's a record that doesn'treally have much to do with what you do on the field. A guy could pinch hit in 2,633 straight games and break that record. Not that it would happen, but youget what I mean? I posted this in the Records thread but I'll say it again here....if Omar Vizquel or someone like him breaks that record, how important isit?
 
He gets a lot of shine because of the streak but I think he should. That streak will NEVER be broken. That is one record that I honestly don't see beingbroken, possible, but I don't think so. Plus he had over 3,000 hits and 400 homeruns. It isn't his fault he played a position that was weak in his era.It's like the NBA now, a decent Center will look great against todays Center. Cal Ripken Jr. was a hell of a player. Plus he got a ring and was the face ofa franchise. Numbers aren't everything. One of the best? I don't know, but he was definitely an above average star. I didn't really know anyoneconsidered him one of the greatest though.
 
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What irks me the most is that people glamorize his unbreakable game streak, but he beat a man whose streak ended BECAUSE HE DIED.
 
This is a wild way of putting things but it kinda proves what I'm trying to say:

Say it was all part of his master plan. He's 6'4", 200+ lbs....he has the build of a power hitter. But he knew he wasn't that great at theplate so he told himself, "I'll just play SS so I don't look as bad."

or in the case of a younger athlete, a more extreme example:

"I won't make the team, unless I play SS because those guys are weak."

So he gets a free pass cuz his position was weak. He was a unanimous vote into the Hall, like...they put him in without question. Jesus, he got in on a 98.5%vote. Hank Aaron got in on 97.8%. Willie Mays - 94.7%. Ernie Banks - 83.8. I mean, really??

It seems like everyone in here knows he wasnt the greatest but the media sure do put him on that pedestal.
 
Reason #2: I could probably strike him out


Nah jokes...but I agree, he's overrated. His most impressive stat is the consecutive games streak, which I say BFD to considering its baseball
 
i think he is a bit overrated but the ability to have a consistent player like that is very very very very rare

that being said if he missed say 5 games in like 1989 i'm not so sure he would be a hall of famer, atleast not 1st ballot
 
A guy could pinch hit in 2,633 straight games and break that record
I couldn't find the exact rule, but I'm pretty sure his record is for "games played" not appearances. I remember watching thegame he broke the record and it wasn't official until a certain inning in the game.
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