Owners and players agreed to start the season three weeks late, but to end it on the scheduled date, creating a shortened 144-game season, not the normal 162 games.

Even though the strike “ended” on April 2nd the next year, the start of the 1995 season was postponed for three weeks. Because of that, 58 games were canceled, ending the season. But his streak was alive.ĭuring the 1994 season, the eighth work stoppage in baseball occurred as players went on strike. Ripken played in only 113 games in 1994, and 144 in ’95. When the game became official, a large banner and game “counter” were changed from “2,130” to “2,131.” President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were both at the game. The game was televised by ESPN, and it ranks as one of the most-watched and memorable baseball games in baseball history. The streak-breaking game was one of the most watched in history. But of course, playoff games don’t count toward the record. Ripken also played in all 28 playoff games that the Orioles participated in during his career. The Orioles were ahead 3-1 going into the bottom of the 5th, so the game was official.Ĭal Ripken’s streak of 2,362 officially started on May 30, 1982, and ended 16 years later on September 19, 1998.īut did you also know that he had played in 22 straight games right before that…but had sat out the second game of a doubleheader on May 29th? Though he played that day (in the first game), sitting out the second game of the day affected the consecutive game streak. Why? Because in baseball, as most fans know, a game becomes “official” at the end of the 5th inning…but that’s only when the game is tied or the visiting team is leading. The game was held up for 22 minutes to acknowledge the feat…in the middle of the 5th inning. Ripken set the record, breaking Lou Gehrig’s streak, after 4½ innings. When he broke Gehrig’s record, Ripken had missed only 164 of the 19,386 innings the Orioles had played.He was an American League All-Star 19 times! He was Rookie of the Year (’82), a two-time AL MVP (’83, ’91) and the All-Star Game MVP in ’.Ripken’s record is more than twice that of NL all-time consecutive-game leader Steve Garvey, who had 1,207 (1975–1983).Ripken’s streak of 2,632 games is more total games played than by all but 33 other players in baseball history.Ripken also holds the Major League record of 8,243 straight innings, a streak that started on June 5, 1982, and covered over 900 games.Some quick-hit tidbits about the Hall of Famer: Here’s a look at some facts and special stats about the streak. broke the record that night, and then extended the streakto 2,632 games, making his achievement almost otherworldly. Gehrig’s record of 2,030 consecutive games seemed unbreakable: Cal Ripken Jr. Gehrig’s streak ended on May 2, 1939, as a result of the onset of ALS-which came to be known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

On September 6, 1995, Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr., known simply as Cal, broke the all-time consecutive-games streak record that had been held by baseball icon Lou Gehrig.

Bill clinton 1994 mlb strike