The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken, and Baseball's Most Historic Record

On May 2, 1939, Yankees manager Joe McCarthy agreed to leave a slumping and (though it wasn't known at the time, mortally ill) Lou Gehrig on the bench for a day. This ended his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played and was thought to be a record for the ages. Until it wasn't, as over a half century later Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles put the Iron Horse in his rearview mirror and didn't stop until he had appeared in 2,632 straight games. Here, veteran sportswriter Eisenberg depicts both men's streaks as well as lesser ones, and in the process addresses several questions: How and why does a player accomplish such a feat? Can a player actually hurt his team by never taking a rest? Is Ripken's record truly one for the ages? The answer to the latter is "likely," as Ripken's record doubles that of the third longest (and the longest of our era): Miguel Tejada's 1,152, ending in 2007, followed by Prince Fielder's 547, ending in 2014.