Was Cal Ripken Jr. Really the “Iron Man”?
Breaking News from The Off-Base Newsdesk at Foul Territory …
BALTIMORE — Scandal has rocked Major League Baseball once again. This time it’s not from the usual shady types like Alex Rodriguez or Pete Rose. It’s Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. The “Iron Man of Baseball,” it turns out, is a fraud.
In a shocking revelation, Cal Ripken Jr.’s little-known identical twin brother Winthrop Ripken revealed that he played in 213 games of Cal’s record 2,632 straight games over a 10-year period. The bombshell is covered in great detail in an upcoming tell-all book written by Winthrop Ripken.
The baseball world knows Cal Ripken Jr. as the “Iron Man” of the sport. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer who helped redefine the shortstop position while with the Baltimore Orioles. It turns out he also had twin brother born just minutes after who would later help propel Cal to icon status.
“I helped perpetuate a fraud. I just knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t come clean,” said Winthrop Ripken on a conference call. “For the majority of Cal’s career, I could never go out in public. And when I did, I had to wear a fake mustache and wig. I felt like I was in the witness relocation program. Anytime Cal needed a break, I had to be ready.”
During his legendary streak, Cal Ripken Jr. received criticism for continuing to play despite slumps and injuries. But according to Winthrop, most of the terrible performances in games were his. He batted .168 and had 42 errors while he played, including 318 strikeouts.
The Ripken twins’ younger brother Billy Ripken was also a Major League player and put up some pretty embarrassing numbers himself. Winthrop reveals in his book that his relationship with his twin brother went south when Cal blamed him after Manager Davey Johnson forced him to switch from shortstop to third base in 1996.
“There’s just no way a human could actually play in that many games in a row. No injuries. No days off for personal reflection. It just can’t be done,” Winthrop states. His self-published book is expected to be uploaded to Amazon later this week. He added, “Of course the big publishing houses didn’t want to touch this. Everybody loves Cal. Cal’s the best. Why can’t you be more like Cal?”
When asked about the startling news, Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher and long-time broadcaster Jim Palmer said, “I remember one time, my jaw-dropped when Cal told me after a game that he couldn’t touch knuckleballer Phil Niekro’s heater. Now that I think about it, maybe that was Winthrop.”
Winthrop claims it was a difficult time for him. “On so many occasions, I wanted to stop playing, but I was threatened by my father and Cal that if I didn’t play, I’d be cut off from the family and lose my meal ticket,” said Winthrop father of two sons, Cal Ripken, III and Cal Ripken, IV.
Strangely enough, the only person Winthrop Ripken says he ever confided in up to this point was surly slugger Albert Belle who played on the Orioles in ’99. “I just felt he was the only person who would understand me,” said Winthrop. “He was the most hated man in baseball – and I was the biggest fraud. So, one night we ended up grabbing some drinks, hanging out and it kind of slipped out. He didn’t even care, he was only interested in chatting up some girls and getting laid.”
“Yeah I remember that night,” said Belle, who was reached by phone. “I thought it was funny. But I was just hoping to get laid.”
All eyes are on Commissioner Rob Manfred to see how he handles this shocking discovery. Will the streak go back to legendary Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig? Will Cal’s status as a Hall of Famer be rescinded? And even worse, will he be banned from all MLB activities and be forced to spend time with Pete Rose?
Off-Base is defined as “mistaken or misinformed; not aligned with reality.” Articles appearing in the Off-Base column of Foul Territory are not meant to be taken seriously and anyone doing so would themselves be considered off-base.
