Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. has been thinking a lot about his playing career lately — partly because the media keep asking him about it. We have an infatuation with round numbers and anniversaries of historic events, and, for Baltimore, one of the most monumental is quickly approaching: 20 years since Ripken, the pride of Aberdeen, broke Lou Gehrig's all-time consecutive games streak of 2,130.
On Sept. 6, 1995, a majestic night at Camden Yards, Ripken became baseball's all-time Iron Man by playing in his 2,131st straight game. It was feted perhaps like no other attendance record in the history of sports; the country's president and vice president attended the game, which became overshadowed by Ripken's unforgettable lap around the field.