104 replies to this topic

[Russ]

Putting athletes on pedestals is blasphemous.

[Mike B]

Wow this thread, took a turn from what I expected.
I was never a big Cal fan but my take....Cal had a great career and a lot of the criticism is IMO wrong, and the streak while maybe not exciting, was the greatest test on endurance in any sport.
And IMO, the fact that the game where he broke the record was between 2 mediocre teams is immaterial

[mweb08]

The game itself was great!

And the streak is certainly remarkable. I do think there was some selfishness involved on Cal's part, though.

[RShack]

Wow this thread, took a turn from what I expected.
I was never a big Cal fan but my take....Cal had a great career and a lot of the criticism is IMO wrong, and the streak while maybe not exciting, was the greatest test on endurance in any sport.
And IMO, the fact that the game where he broke the record was between 2 mediocre teams is immaterial

 

I agree about every bit of this... except the part about the criticism being wrong.... most of the criticism is on the nose, just like most of the praise is.. 

 

But let's not worry about that... we mostly agree...

 

Plus, I think Cal deserves a medal for not throwing a reporter out the window when he got asked the same damn question for the zillionth time...

[tennOsfan]

You are not an Oriole fan if Cal Ripken Jr. is not among your baseball gods. Sorry, but it's f------ true.

[RShack]

You are not an Oriole fan if Cal Ripken Jr. is not among your baseball gods. Sorry, but it's f------ true.

 

Oh, everybody's a Cal Jr fan... including a bazillion people who are not Oriole fans... which is exactly as it should be...

 

Being a fan doesn't mean you think he's a saint... 

 

Brooks on the other hand is a saint... 

 

ps:  Frank was a different kind of saint... he was both a savior and a real motherf**ker of a saint   

[tennOsfan]

Oh, everybody's a Cal Jr fan... including a bazillion people who are not Oriole fans... which is exactly as it should be...

 

Being a fan doesn't mean you think he's a saint...  Brooks on the other hand is a saint...

 

Sorry, but I'm a bit sensitive here. He is the Orioles for my generation. Last night I had tears running down both cheeks reliving the love extended by the fans to his accomplishment, and here I see the same old stupid criticisms of him by people who are supposed to be Oriole fans.

 

He was a great player. He was our player. Quit all that other crap.

[RShack]

Sorry, but I'm a bit sensitive here. He is the Orioles for my generation. Last night I had tears running down both cheeks reliving the love extended by the fans to his accomplishment, and here I see the same old stupid criticisms of him by people who are supposed to be Oriole fans.

 

He was a great player. He was our player. Quit all that other crap.

 

I understand your tearful joy... I'm the same way about the '66 WS... I don't wanna screw up that kind of thing for anybody... so please ignore everything I said... (honest, no kidding....)

[Pedro Cerrano]

Without looking it up (obviously) how many career steals did Cal have? For bonus, how many attempts?

[RShack]

Without looking it up (obviously) how many career steals did Cal have? For bonus, how many attempts?

 

I am incapable of answering this question without comparing him to Brooks... so in deference to our pal from TENN, I will simply STFU...   

[RShack]

Now, if you wanna bring up hitting into triple plays, I will give Cal that one, no problem...  St. Brooks even brags about it when somebody tries to tell him he was great... (plus, it just makes the SB thing even funnier...)

 

http://www.booksonba...he-triple-play/

 

Not that any of this matters... it doesn't....

[russsnyder]

Sorry, but I'm a bit sensitive here. He is the Orioles for my generation. Last night I had tears running down both cheeks reliving the love extended by the fans to his accomplishment, and here I see the same old stupid criticisms of him by people who are supposed to be Oriole fans.

He was a great player. He was our player. Quit all that other crap.

You don't have to read it if you don't like it. No one said he wasn't a great player. This is a message board and people are going to express opinions that you don't like.

[SportsGuy]

I am incapable of answering this question without comparing him to Brooks... so in deference to our pal from TENN, I will simply STFU...

Well, he was a better player than Brooks.

[Mike in STL]

Well, he was a better player than Brooks.

Best Oriole of all time.

[SportsGuy]

Best Oriole of all time.

Yep.

Frank was a better player but didn’t play long enough.

It’s really Brooks, Palmer and Ripken as the contenders.

Ripken was easily the better player compared to Brooks.

He had 30 career more WAR than Palmer.

[Mike in STL]

Yep.

Frank was a better player but didn’t play long enough.

It’s really Brooks, Palmer and Ripken as the contenders.

Ripken was easily the better player compared to Brooks.

He had 30 career more WAR than Palmer.

Eddie in the camp with Frank. Accolades, numbers, but played elsewhere too much.

[SportsGuy]

Eddie in the camp with Frank. Accolades, numbers, but played elsewhere too much.

Yea, he was here longer then Frank, so he’s between Frank and those guys. But yes, lack of longevity hurts him him in that specific discussion.

Great player obviously..very similar to Cal in a lot of ways.

Cal playing the more important position is a huge difference there.

Eddie deserves more credit for how good he was in the overall big picture of MLB first baseman. Seems to be a very underrated guy to me.

[Mike in STL]

Yea, he was here longer then Frank, so he’s between Frank and those guys. But yes, lack of longevity hurts him him in that specific discussion.

Great player obviously..very similar to Cal in a lot of ways.

Cal playing the more important position is a huge difference there.

Eddie deserves more credit for how good he was in the overall big picture of MLB first baseman. Seems to be a very underrated guy to me.

He’s definitely underrated for sure.

[RShack]

Eddie in the camp with Frank. Accolades, numbers, but played elsewhere too much.

 

Yeah, but that wasn't Eddie's fault... he got run out of town by the media for no good reason...

 

God decided that Eddie wouldn't win any batting titles of any kind... he lost the NL batting crown despite having the highest BA in either league...

[Mike in STL]

Yeah, but that wasn't Eddie's fault... he got run out of town by the media for no good reason...

 

God decided that Eddie wouldn't win any batting titles of any kind... he lost the NL batting crown despite having the highest BA in either league...

Huh?  What year did he lead either league in BA? 

 

And I know he didn't get along with the media. But the O's traded him after the god awful 88' season for prospects (who I don't recall amounted to anything) but the point is thats what you do with a highly paid player on a team that lost 100some games. Rebuild. To your point, not his fault he got traded though.