[Alberta's Child]

That's a good reference there. I always thought 1985 was his best year, but statistically 1991 was better. What I never understood was how an all-star caliber ballplayer could sandwich a .320 year between two .250 seasons.

His career was actually quite ordinary (at best) in the years before and after 1991, especially when you consider that after '91 he was playing in a "live ball" era in which offensive numbers were historically high throughout both leagues. It's kind of surprising that 1991 was really the only year after 1986 in which he was among the league leaders in any number of offensive categories.

[Mase]

"That's a good reference there. I always thought 1985 was his best year, but statistically 1991 was better. What I never understood was how an all-star caliber ballplayer could sandwich a .320 year between two .250 seasons."
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Cal's contribution to the team has to be measured in more than just batting average. Even in those less than stellar years his slugging percentage and on base percentages remained high.

1990:
Avg. .250
SLG .415
OBP .341
RBI 84
Runs 78
HR 21

Show me any other SS with a .250 average and those other contributing stats.

1992 was one of his worst years but even then he managed 160 hits and a .323 OBP.

He still had some incredible year's after 1991. In 1994 he had a .314 average, a .364 OBP and his SLG was .459. Not bad for an old guy.

In 1996 he had 102 RBI's, a .341 OBP and 178 hits with a SLG of .466. I haven't looked but I'll bet those other offensive categories would have him very high on the list of shortstop's those years. Even his fielding remained respectable throughout his career.

Beyond that was the fan factor. I had season tickets from 1989-1995 and you would have had to been there to understand just how important Cal was to Baltimore. If Cal was playing, the game was sold out. It didn't matter to the fans if Cal was producing like his critics expected him to or not. The fans wanted to see Cal and didn't give a damn if someone else felt it would be better for the team if he sat out. I was there the night he broke the record for games played and I cannot think of any other athlete, in recent times, that has garnered the kind of admiration and respect that was on display that night. Of course, Peter Angelos did all he could to make that night about himself and has decimated what was once a great ball club. Rich, obnoxious trial lawyers should not own baseball teams!