A Throwback

Ripken was definitely no LeBron James.
image from judaslebron.com

This week I'm writing about an athlete who was drafted straight out of high school. He played for the professional team of his hometown, won the rookie of the year award for the league, and several MVP awards in the seasons following. Sound familiar? Scroll down a few posts.

But this time I'm not talking about LeBron. Carl Ripken, Jr. was born in Maryland and never played for a team outside his home state. Although the only World Series ring he won came in 1983, his third season in the major league, he stuck with the Baltimore Orioles for all 20 seasons of his career.

According to this bleacher report article, the difference between Carl Ripken, Jr. and LeBron James is that Ripken "never felt the need to put on a one-hour prime-time special to announce that he was leaving the only place he'd ever called home."

That's not to say that ESPN played favorites - the network may have granted an entire hour to James just to talk about himself, but when Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game in 1995, breaking Lou Gehrig's record for the most consecutive games played, ESPN did not break for commercials during the entire 22-minute standing ovation Ripkin received. Now that's good publicity.

Ripkin's 2131st consecutive game
image from baltimoreoriolesfansite.com

Ripken didn't need to be on a super team or play with other super stars to make a name for himself. He didn't fake injuries when his team was losing. He didn't chase his goals around the country, and he was rewarded when the honors came to him instead.

A list of the awards Ripken received while playing for the Orioles can be seen here. Even though he only has one ring to show for it, he made himself one of the most respected athletes of all time and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. And he managed to do it all without turning his back on his home team and fans.

image from orioles.gearupforsports.com

His retired number 8 has been displayed at Camden Yards for 10 years now. And I think it would be pretty safe to assume that not a single #8 Ripken jersey was ever burned.