CAL and BILL RIPKEN are co-owners of Ripken Baseball, which runs youth camps nationwide. They recently opened the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy in their hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland. Cal Ripken, Jr., holds one of baseball’s most respected records: He played in a record-setting 2,632 consecutive games, surpassing Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 straight games, which was thought to be unbeatable. The American League Rookie of the Year in 1982, the AL’s Most Valuable Player in 1983 and 1991, and an All-Star nineteen times (the most in AL history), he is one of only seven players in Major League history with 400 homers and 3,000 hits. Bill Ripken is a twelve-year Major League veteran who played for the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers, among other teams. LARRY BURKE is the baseball editor of Sports Illustrated and the author of three books on the sport.
