Cal Ripken reached the major leagues in 1981 as a third baseman.

Ripken was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the son of Violet Roberta "Vi" and Cal Ripken Sr. He also got advice from his father, who once remarked to his mother that his questions were better than the ones reporters had.Cal Ripken began his high school career playing second base; his coach, Don Morrison, said, "I was considering moving him to short, but I was unsure if his arm was strong enough." Cal Ripken is best known for holding the record for consecutive games played, 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. He reached the major leagues in 1981 as a third baseman, but the following year, he was shifted to shortstop, his long-time position for Baltimore. That year, Ripken also won the AL Rookie of the Year Award and began his consecutive games played streak.