COOPERSTOWN, NY - Two-time Most Valuable
Player Cal Ripken Jr. and eight-time batting champion
Tony Gwynn were inducted into the Baseball Hall of
Fame on Sunday.
Ripken received 98.5 percent of the vote, third-highest
in the history of the Baseball Writers' Association of
America, when he was elected earlier this year, while
Gwynn's percentage of 97.6 ranks as seventh-best.
"Today, my friend Tony Gwynn and I officially become
members of the Hall of Fame," Ripken said, "and I
congratulate Tony for all that he has achieved.
"But this day, and all it represents, shouldn't be just
about us...Today is about celebrating the best that
baseball has been, and the best it can be."
Ripken won MVP awards in 1983 and 1991 during a
21-year career as a shortstop and third baseman with
the Baltimore Orioles. He will, of course, best be
remembered for breaking one of the most cherished
records in baseball when he played in 2,632
consecutive games to top Lou Gehrig's streak of
2,130 straight games.
"I realize what I'm about to say is ironic, because I'm
often known for the consecutive game streak that
helped define my career and my approach to the
game," said Ripken. "The streak is marked by a
number -- a start and an end. But I can assure you it
wasn't accomplished with a view toward a given
number or end points. And I certainly wasn't aware
when I started in this game where it would lead me.
"You see, I truly believe there are no endings, just
points at which we begin again, as players do 162
times a season, and if they're lucky, a few more times
each fall."
In addition to his streak and MVP awards, Ripken was
a 19-time All-Star and played in a record 16 straight
All-Star Games. He was twice the MVP of the Mid-
Summer Classic, won the AL Rookie of the Year in
1982 and helped the Orioles to their last World Series
title the following year during his first MVP season.
Ripken, a two-time Gold Glove winner, played in 3,001
career games and is 14th on the all-time hits list with
3,184. He batted .276 with 431 home runs, 603
doubles and 1,695 runs batted in.
Gwynn played 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres
and his .338 career batting average ranks 20th in
baseball history. He hit over .300 in every season
except his rookie year of 1982 when he batted .289.
"I'm proud as heck to be a San Diego Padre," Gwynn
said. "I played for one team, I played in one town. I told
the people in San Diego when I left to come to
Cooperstown, they were going to be standing up here
with me.
"This is a tremendous honor to be here today."
A 15-time All-Star, Gwynn nearly became the first man
to bat .400 since Ted Williams in 1941 when he
finished the strike-shortened 1994 campaign at .394.
He led the league in hits seven times and had five
200-hit seasons.
Gwynn, a five-time Gold Glove winner for his play in
right field, ranks 18th all-time with 3,141 hits and ninth
with 2,378 singles. He helped the Padres to the World
Series in 1984 and 1998.
Spink Award winner Rick Hummel, who has covered
baseball and the Cardinals for the St. Louis Post-
Dispatch for over two decades, and Frick Award
winner Denny Matthews, in his 39th season behind
the microphone in the Royals radio booth, were also
honored.
