New York Yankees

Cal Ripken Jr.'s replacement thought the end of the streak was a 'rookie prank'

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:53 p.m. ET

Brett Smiley

On September 20, 1998, one of the most unbreakable streaks in professional sports came to an end when Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken decided it was time to take a seat.

As the third baseman and one-time shortstop explained on WFAN's "Boomer & Carton" on Tuesday morning, with the Orioles out of the pennant race, Ripken Jr. had made up his mind about the 2,632 game streak, deciding to put a bookend on the record at home at Camden Yards so Orioles fans could watch the moment with their own eyes.

As for the 24-year-old infielder Ryan Minor who took Ripken Jr.'s place in the lineup that day? He thought they were yanking his chain. Watch Ripken Jr. tell it (a transcript follows):

"I came in about 10 minutes before the game because I didn't want to have to deal with all that. I told Ray Miller [former Orioles manager] that today was the day. And he kind of looked at me in a shocked sort of way. He didn't know what to do. And all I said was, 'Don't make a special announcement or anything, just let it unfold.' And then I'll deal with it. I don't want it to be a distraction for anybody else. And so we went out on the field. I had to convince Ryan Minor, my replacement that night, to take the field. He thought it was some sort of rookie prank. That he was going to take the field or something and I was going to come out..."

Ripken Jr. describes the day in greater detail, specifically the moment he would have normally stepped on the field when the Yankees were the first to notice what was happening.