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| Call 301-455-SEAT for tickets to Cal's last game! |
Where to find tickets!
Ripken's final game at Camden Yards on Sept. 23 is the hottest thing around.
Matt Dryer, the Orioles' director of ticket sales, said that on the morning of June 19, 2001, he had fewer than 350 single seats for the final two games at home. They were gone before the official announcement of Cal's retirement.
Many fans have turned their focus to Yankee Stadium, where the Orioles will finish the season with a three-game set. But the final games at Yankee Stadium have also sold out.
However, there are a limited number of tickets available for Cal's last game at Camden Yards (September 23), as well as the last game of his career at Yankee Stadium (September 30). Mike Collins of iTixx, Inc. has a selection of tickets for both games. Call 301-455-SEAT for more information.
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| Call 301-455-SEAT for tickets to Cal's last game! |
 Next stop: Cooperstown
Cal Ripken just wanted to play the game. He followed in the spike marks of his father and hoped to emulate boyhood idol Brooks Robinson, but ended up creating a legend all his own.
Ripken redefined the shortstop position, became one of the most revered players in baseball history and enjoyed a terrific 21-year Orioles career that is to end at the conclusion of the 2001 season.
There was little left to accomplish. Ripken got his 3,000th career hit early last season. He already owned the all-time record for home runs by a shortstop and had long since broken Lou Gehrig's supposedly unbreakable record of 2,130 consecutive games. There wasn't much left to do but play out the string and make reservations for Cooperstown, where he will be enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame in 2007.
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| Call 301-455-SEAT for tickets to Cal's last game! |
 So long, Cal - we'll miss you!
Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken will end his Hall of Fame career at the end of this season.
Ripken, the game's record-holder for consecutive games played and a symbol for Major League Baseball as well as the hometown franchise for which he has played his entire 21-year career, made it official on June 19, 2001.
"He's been struggling with this, thinking about it, and finally just said, 'Yes,'" John Maroon, a Ripken spokesman, said. "There were three factors that played into it: his youth initiative, his family and the direction the Orioles have taken."
Ripken, 40, will play the rest of the season, according to Maroon, before appearing in uniform for the final time, against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium on Sept.30.
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| Call 301-455-SEAT for tickets to Cal's last game! |
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| Ripken's Numbers |
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8,243
Consecutive innings played from June 5, 1982, to Sept. 14, 1987
2,632
Consecutive games played from May 30, 1982, to Sept. 19, 1998
.996
Record for fielding percentage
in a season by a shortstop (1990)
18
All-Star Game selections
2,216
Consecutive games played at one position (shortstop) from July 9, 1982, to July 14, 1996
2,922
Games played, 10th all time
3,107
Hits made, 18th all time
421
Home runs, 29th all time
1,652
RBIs, tied for 18th all time
1,618
Runs, 35th all time
594
Doubles, 12th all time
5,052
Total bases, 13th all time
11,253
At-bats, 6th all time
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