Cal Ripken Jr. Wins the AL Rookie of the Year Award

On November 24, 1982, Baltimore Orioles infielder Cal Ripken Jr. was named the American League Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old had hit .264 with 28 home runs and 93 RBI while splitting time between shortstop and third base, establishing himself as one of the best young players in the game.

Ripken's 28 home runs were remarkable for a player who spent most of his rookie season at shortstop. The position had long been reserved for slick-fielding, light-hitting defenders, and Ripken's 6-foot-4 frame challenged every assumption about what a shortstop should look like. At that size, with that kind of power, he was supposed to play third base or first base. Ripken played shortstop anyway, and the game adjusted to him.

The Rookie of the Year Award was the first of many honors. Ripken won the AL MVP the following season, hitting .318 with 27 home runs and 102 RBI as the Orioles won the 1983 World Series. He won a second MVP in 1991 and made 19 All-Star teams over a 21-year career spent entirely in Baltimore.

The streak that defined his legacy began during his rookie season. Ripken started his consecutive games played streak on May 30, 1982, and did not miss a game for the next 16 years. He broke Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games on September 6, 1995, eventually extending the streak to 2,632 games before voluntarily ending it on September 20, 1998. All of it started in the same season that earned him this award.