Thirty years ago, Cal Ripken Jr. was in the middle of winning the second American League MVP Award of his Hall of Fame career.
The Baltimore Orioles shortstop blasted 34 home runs, drove in 114 runs and crossed home plate 99 times during a 1991 campaign in which she slashed .323/.374/.566. Oh, and Ripken also made the All-Star Game and won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards that year.
In late July 1991, the Iron Man appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside the title “Nonstop Shortstop.” Ripken extended his consecutive games played streak to beyond 1,500 games during that season.
In response to a tweet sharing his magazine cover, Ripken did some reminiscing on Twitter this afternoon.
“Can’t believe it’s been 30 years… thanks for the shoutout! Great memories,” he wrote.
Can’t believe it’s been 30 years… thanks for the shoutout! Great memories. https://t.co/zuia6u3Fi1
— Cal Ripken, Jr. (@CalRipkenJr) July 29, 2021
Ripken won his first MVP Award in 1983–one year after winning Rookie of the Year and the same season he helped lead the Orioles to their most recent World Series title. His second one came eight years later, and he also finished third in the MVP voting in 1989.
For his career, Ripken also finished with 19 All-Star Game selections, a Home Run Derby championship, eight Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.
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