SEASON SUMMARY

Cal Ripken's announcement of his impending retirement, made in early June, confirmed what many had been suspecting for some time and, of course, signaled the end of an era in Baltimore, and in Major League Baseball more generally.  The Orioles have had a history of retaining players--great players--for their entire careers, spanning parts of three decades.  From Brooks Robinson to Jim Palmer to Cal Ripken, the legacy stretches back almost to the origin of the modern Baltimore Orioles.  (The club moved from St. Louis to Baltimore for the start of the 1954 season;  the big league portion of Brooks Robinson's career began in September of 1955 and didn't end until 1977.  Jim Palmer made his big league debut in 1965 and retired in 1984.  Cal Ripken made his first major league appearance in 1981 and, of course, played through the end of the 2001 season.  The first two players are in the Hall of Fame; the last will be enshrined in 2007.)

At the time of the announcement of his impending retirement, Ripken was undoubtedly playing the worst baseball of his pro career.  His OPS was mired below .550, an embarrassing level.  His batting average was only modestly above the Mendoza Line; his OBP was below .240; his slugging percentage was hovering near the .300 mark.  The whispers were getting louder--Cal's done; I hate to see him go out like this.  Cal called it quits in a Camden Yards press conference and almost immediately began to hit...and hit...and hit.  In a solid hot streak that lasted roughly two months, Cal's batting average peaked at .276 in mid-August; his slugging percentage advanced to a respectable .425; his OPS began to surge toward .750.  Not great numbers, admittedly, but not embarrassing ones either.  And then, almost overnight, the hot streak was gone and the numbers sagged, inexorably, toward their final season levels.  Ripken closed the season in a 2-42 slump and went without an extra base hit in his final 13 games.  It was in fact time.

Cal's final season was, statistically, easily the worst of his career (assuming one leaves out the 23 game, 40 plate appearance stint in 1981).  Cal created 3.11 runs per 27 outs in 2001.  His previous season worst was a full run better (1992).  Worse yet, his offensive winning percentage was .316; he had never been below .436 in his career before.  Of all the big league players in baseball in 2001 with at least 502 plate appearances, only four had OWPs lower than Cal's.  There's no point in sugarcoating it; it was a rather ignominious ending to a certain Hall of Fame career.

This is an Orioles yearbook covering the 2001 season, so its incumbent upon us to report on each player's 2001 season.  However...given the historic nature of Cal Ripken's career, rather than reporting on his desultory 2001 splits, I thought it would be more interesting to look at some of his career accomplishments in the "notes" section below.

TO CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY NEXT YEAR, HE MUST:

1) kick back and relax, for the first summer of his life

NOTES

Was among the top 10 players in games played in the AL 17 times (no surprise) in his career, including leading the league nine times...finished in the top 10 in runs scored four times, including a league-leading 121 in 1983...was in the top 10 in hits five times including a league-leading 211 in 1983...finished in the top 10 in doubles six times including a league-leading 47 in 1983...was in the top 10 in triples (believe it or not) once...in the top 10 in home runs twice (1983, 1991)...in the top 10 in RBIs three times (1983, 1985, 1991)...in the top 10 in walks three times...in the top 10 in batting average three times (1983, 1984, 1991)...in the top 10 in slugging percentage three times...in the top 10 in OPS three times...in the top 10 in runs created four times...top 10 in OWP three times...top 10 in RC/G twice...top 10 in total bases five times...top 10 in extra base hits three times...AL Rookie of the Year in 1982...AL MVP in 1983 and 1991.