Former Baltimore Oriole Ryan Minor, Who Replaced Cal Ripken Jr. To End Iron Man Streak, Dies At 49

Ryan Minor, the former Baltimore Oriole third baseman that replaced Cal Ripken Jr. on the night his Iron Man streak ended, died last night according to his family after a battle with colon cancer.

Minor was drafted by the Orioles in 1996 before making his MLB debut on September 13th, 1998. Just one week later his name was secured in baseball trivia forever when he was informed by O's manager Ray Miller that he would be replacing Ripken in the lineup, putting an end to baseball's most consecutive games played streak at 2,632.

MINOR HAD NO IDEA HE'D BE IN FOR RIPKEN

For those that don't remember, Cal Ripken Jr. never publicly announced when he would end the streak that began on May 30, 1982 and would last for sixteen years. Orioles manager Ray Miller didn't know and 24-year-old Ryan Minor of all people had no idea whatsoever.

Minor would end up playing four years in the big leagues after leaving the Orioles for a stint with the Montreal Expos. He would then manage two Orioles minor league affiliates for nine seasons until 2019.

RYAN MINOR PLAYED TWO SPORTS AT OKLAHOMA

In addition to his Ripken replacement notoriety, Minor was also a solid college basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners. His 1,946 career points is the sixth-most in the school's history and helped Minor get drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. However, with Jerry Stackhouse and Clarence Witherspoon already on the team, the Sixers eventually released Minor.

He would go onto play for the Oklahoma City Calvary in the Continental Basketball Association before being offered an invitation to spring training by the Orioles.

Minor was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer last year, just one month after it was announced that he would be inducted next year into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.