Just Show Up: And Other Enduring Values from Baseball's Iron Man

Iron Man Cal Ripken, Jr., the 19-time All-Star, World-Series-winning legend, American League MVP, and record holder who played 2,632 consecutive games, outlines eight rules for the game of baseball and life, drawing from the lessons he has learned on and off the field.

Cal Ripken, Jr., is a baseball legend. But legends aren't born, they're made. For 21 seasons, Ripken took the field day in and day out, through cold, heat, rain, and sometimes snow, playing in more than 3,000 games for the Baltimore Orioles. In 1983, the revered shortstop helped lead his team to victory in the World Series. On September 6, 1995, Ripken did the seemingly impossible: He surpassed Lou Gehrig's unbreakable 56-year-old Iron-Man record, setting a new mark of 2,131 consecutive games, and then played another 501 consecutive games. Throughout his career, Ripken was admired for his consistency, hard work, and loyalty. There were successes and failures, but above all was an old-fashioned sense of doing what's right every single day.

Since retiring in 2001, Ripken has enjoyed a successful career as a baseball analyst, entrepreneur, and author. Now, in Just Show Up, he reflects on his life and career to offer lessons for the next generation and those to come. Ripken speaks eloquently about the timeless values he has lived by: Life is a streak, play the long game; success and money are not the same; play fair, win fair. And he shares stories of his legendary father, Baltimore Oriole coach and manager Cal Ripken, Sr., what it took to keep the streak alive, and what it meant to bring the World Series to Baltimore.

Cal Ripken's message is simple yet poignant; wisdom essential to anyone trying to forge a successful life in times that are often chaotic. Blending insights from sports, business, and a life well-lived, Just Show Up is the story of an American legend and the principles he has lived by, standards our time needs.