‘Iron Man’ Ripken Jr. Pops the Cork on Commemorative Wine

Tis' the season for the World Series, but Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. isn’t in town to talk baseball. He sat down with the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney to discuss the official release of a limited-edition wine that commemorates the 20th anniversary of his consecutive game record.

“20 years since the record was broken, 2,130 games was Lou Gehrig, I broke it September 6, [1995]… So there’s a commemorative wine that, there’s only 2,131 bottles. It is a fundraiser for the Cal Ripken Senior Foundation… the makers of Axios… made this high-quality [cabernet] from Napa Valley and it’s about $300 bucks so it’s pretty expensive,” Ripken said.

“The Iron Man” played 21 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles, set the record playing in 2,632 games from 1982-1998, earned two Most Valuable Player awards and won a World Series championship, all before retiring in 2001.

“If there was one reason why I was able to do it, is that you loved what you did. So even though you might have been struggling, or things might not have been good with your team you could come to the ballpark with a level of enthusiasm and joy… So yea I loved it and think you have to love it to play it that long,” he said.

When asked if he was a better shortstop than Derek Jeter he said: “we are two different types of shortstops number one. Derek brings with his resume a clutch performer in October -- and a great offensive player with a little speed. I had no speed… I was the power guy and I wish I had a chance to play in all of the World Series that he did, so I’m a little jealous of Derek.”

Speaking of the World Series, Ripken Jr. thinks the Mets will win in 7.