Iron Man Cal to quit

Still swinging: Ripken lets rip against Tampa Bay in April

Cal Ripken, whose record of 2,632 consecutive games for Baltimore may never be broken, has announced his retirement.

Ripken, 40 and known as baseball's Iron Man, is in his 21st season with the Orioles.

He told the Washington Post he wanted to spend more time with his family and that he hoped eventually to run a major league franchise.

"It's inevitable that you can't play forever," he said. "I've maximized my window of opportunity as well as anyone.

Baseball has given me a lot of joy and happiness and satisfaction. I'm proud of what I've been able to do.

"But I'm ready to do other things. I'm ready to be home and be available to my kids and family. ... I'm sure I'll miss certain parts of playing.

"But when you put your heart and soul into it at the level I have every single day, you can minimise some of your regrets."

Ripken said he decided to retire after this season "two or three weeks ago".

Farewell

His final game is to be at New York's Yankee Stadium on 30 September.

It was at the same stadium where the previous holder of the consecutive games record, the late Lou Gehrig, gave his farewell speech in 1939.

Gehrig's record of 2,130 was broken by Ripken in 1995.

Ripken takes a bow after breaking Gehrig's record

In 1990, Ripken's fielding percentage was .994, the highest for a shortstop in major league history. He is finishing his career at third base.

Of his decision to quit, he said: "I'm not doing this to have a farewell tour or to have people look at it as their last chance to see me.

"What I really want to see happen for the rest of the year is to thoroughly enjoy the game for what it is.

"I want to just enjoy the freedom of just coming to the ballpark and enjoying it."

'The Streak'

Ripken said he chose to announce his decision now to give the Orioles, currently third in the AL East with a 32-36 record, an opportunity to fill third base for next season.

While what was called "The Streak" dominates Ripken's career, during the last few years he has been troubled by injuries.

Ripken is a fans' favourite

A back injury kept him out of parts of 1999 and 2000 and his spring training preparation was hampered this season by a broken rib.

Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell gave Ripken credit for helping bring baseball back to popularity after the 1994 strike.

"No one told him to sign autographs until the last fan in the stands had been satisfied. But he knew that baseball needed that commitment to generosity in the wake of the strike.

"The sight of Ripken 'signing for the ballpark' night after night, when the sport was in trouble, will outlast any home run he ever hit."