Shortstop: Cal Ripken Jr. – Orioles
Cal Ripken would provide us with one of the greatest baseball moments of our generation on September 6, 1995, when he played in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record held by Lou Gehrig for 56 years. The Iron Man wasn’t just good at showing up for every game, he was one of the best players in all of baseball during his career.
Ripken would accumulate 1,589 hits from 1990-1999, good for a .278 batting average over that span. Ripken also hit 198 home runs, 827 RBI, 305 doubles and 20 triples fueling him to an All-Star selection every season from 1990-1999. Ripken was named the American League Most Valuable Player in 1991. On July 15, 1993, Ripken surpassed Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks for the most home runs by a shortstop in major league history when he hit his 278th career home run.
Over the course of 21 seasons Cal Ripken would make 19 All-Star Game appearances, win two MVP awards, two Gold Glove Awards and eight Silver Slugger Awards while racking up 3,184 hits. Ripken would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, have his number eight retired by the Baltimore Orioles and leave an unmatched legacy behind him.