Gwynn & Ripken: Waiting for the Call

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Two-time Most Valuable Player Cal Ripken, Jr., eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn and four-time home run leader Mark McGwire are but three of 17 first-year candidates on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot who'll wait hopefully by the telephone on January 9th.

They join 15 holdovers from the 2006 balloting, a tally which saw Jim Rice, the American League MVP in 1978, 53 votes shy of the required amount for election last year. One vote behind Rice was two-time Fireman of the Year relief pitcher Rich "Goose" Gossage.

Both Rice and Gossage, along with Bert Blyleven, are hopefuls for this year, but each will suffer from the tidal wave of excitement surrounding Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn. No player has ever garnered 100 percent of the approximately 575 voting members. Although Tom Seaver came close in 1992. How any voting member could pass on a positive ballot for Cal Ripken, Jr. is unimaginable. But the Baltimore Sun is reporting that Ripken's tally was not unanimous.

Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr. will first and foremost be the man who broke Lou Gehrig's Iron Man consecutive game record of 2130 games. Though Ripken's 2,632 games will be almost impossible to eclipse, his other on-field accomplishments alone qualify him for the Hall of Fame.

Cal Ripken, Jr. will first and foremost be the man who broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive game record.

During his 21 seasons in the majors with the Baltimore Orioles – mostly at shortstop and then at third base – Ripken was a 19-time All-Star. He played in a record 16 consecutive All-Star Games, taking the game's MVP award twice. His more than 36 million votes in the fan All Star voting is the all time leader.

Ripken was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1982 and the MVP the next year when Baltimore won its last World Series. He won a second MVP Award in 1991 on his way to such career numbers as 3,184 hits (14th), 603 doubles (13th), 431 home runs (35th), 1,695 RBI (20th), 3,001 games (8th), 11,551 at-bats (4th) and 127 sacrifice flies (2nd). Ripken was a two-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner, an eight-time Silver Slugger and batted .338 in 28 postseason games.

During "The Streak," Ripken played nearly the whole game each time he took his position, averaging 99.8 percent of time on the field. He refused to make token appearances just to keep the streak alive, and several close calls almost ended the run – which included a record 8,243 straight innings of play from 1982 to 1987.

During a 1993 game with Seattle at Camden Yards, Ripken badly twisted his right knee trying to break up a brawl and protect Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina. Instead of making a token one-inning appearance the next game, trainers taped and braced the injury, and Ripken played every inning for the next two weeks.

Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn broke from the pack early. In an era when premier players bounced from team to team, ushered by agents in search of celestial contracts, Gwynn played his entire major-league career with the San Diego Padres.

Gwynn was the consummate student of hitting, always in search of ways to improve his .338 career swing.

Though he played most of his career during the long ball era at a slugger's position, the 15-time All-Star was not a home run threat. He never hit more than 17 homers in any one season during his major league career. Gwynn carved his niche as one of the most consistent hitters for contact to ever play. He struck out only 434 times in 9,288 career at-bats, and never hit below .309 in any full season.

His career-high .394 average in 1994 is the highest in the majors in the 65 years since Ted Williams hit .406. In addition to winning eight NL batting crowns, Gwynn had five 200-hit seasons, led the league in hits seven times, batted .371 in his two World Series and earned five Rawlings Gold Glove Awards for fielding his position in right field to go with his seven Silver Slugger Awards for offense.

Gwynn was the consummate student of hitting, always in search of ways to improve his swing. He even used tiny bats for a Major Leaguer, 33-inch Louisville Sluggers weighing just 30 ounces – the kind a big Little Leaguer might swing. But in Gwynn's hands, the small bat swung for a .338 career lifetime batting average, the 20th highest in history, with 3,141 hits (18th).