Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Cal Ripken, Jr./archive1


 * The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was not promoted by Ian Rose 07:48, 25 May 2014 (UTC) [//en.wikipedia.org/?diff=610043118].

Cal Ripken, Jr.

 * Nominator(s): Oriolesfan8 (talk) 11:45, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

This article is about Cal Ripken, Jr., Hall of Fame baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles. It has passed a good article review and has already been peer reviewed. As a result, I believe I have done everything I can to it without nominating it to be a featured article. Oriolesfan8 (talk) 11:45, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * All good on the reference front except for ref #172, which is showing up as 404/dead link. You need to find an updated link for that reference or use the internet archive.


 * References #110, #149 and the one from "The Hardball Times" all redirect to different URLs. These need to be updated.


 * I would also remove "The Hardball Times" link from the "External Links" section and find a way to use it in the text itself as that could be considered WP:LINKSPAM.


 * Otherwise, from a reference stand point, well done. -  Neutralhomer •  Talk  • 15:55, 28 April 2014 (UTC)


 * References have been cleaned up and updated. From a reference stand point, everything looks good; Support.  A more thorough review will have to come from the baseball buffs. -  Neutralhomer  •  Talk  • 13:15, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Oppose I see two major problems with this article.


 * First, the majority of the article is based on a book written in 1995, six years before he retired. There is no way that a book written in that time period can put his career in proper perspective.  It's an okay source for basic facts, but not as the only lens most of his career is filtered through.


 * Second, this article pays no attention to the last twenty years of advances in baseball statistics via sabermetrics. There is much made of batting average and RBIs, which are pretty universally recognized today as having limited utility in evaluating a player's offensive contributions, and no mention at all of runs created, WAR, OPS+, etc.  While defensive statistics still lag behind in sophistication, there are several advanced metrics now used to evaluate players such as WAR and zone rating that are likewise ignored.  As such, this article is not a comprehensive evaluation of Ripken as a baseball player. Indrian (talk) 00:52, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * The majority of the article is backed up by a book written six years before Ripken retired, but the book is only used for basic facts, not to put Ripken's career in perspective. As for sabermetrics, I have a tendency to doubt their usefulness, as do a significant number of baseball fans. Batting average and RBIs are not universally recognized as being limited; besides, they are not the only statistics presented. As for this article being a comprehensive evaluation, I might give more credence to your claim if you knew how to spell Ripken's name. Oriolesfan8 (talk) 11:25, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Wow, one typo in a post and your true colors emerge. I am not sure why you think petulance and rudeness will help you get your article promoted to feature status, but my guess is that it will not be conducive to achieving your goal.  I am also sorry that you have a POV bias against sabermetrics and have therefore chosen to ignore advanced statistical metrics in the article in violation of Wikipedia's NPOV policy.  Your judgement and that of a "significant number of baseball fans"(also Trout-Cabrera MVP debate) on the usefulness of advanced statistical metrics is not important.  What is important is their use in reliable sources, which is widespread in the present day.  FA-quality articles are required to be well-researched and comprehensive.  Unless you have proof that no significant baseball authorities have written about Ripken's career other than in a single book in 1995 or that no significant baseball authorities have examined Ripken's career through the lens of modern baseball statistics, this article has failed to meet those two criteria. Indrian (talk) 14:07, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * It was a typo? Oh, sorry. Even if it hadn't been, I probably shouldn't have insulted you like that in the first place, so I hope you will accept my apology. Oriolesfan8 (talk) 12:08, 30 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Oppose based on Criteria 1c + 1b. There have been numerous biographies and scholarly articles written on him and this article should reflect that, especially in the Early Life, Personal life and Legacy sections. This article should mention his media image and endorsements. See "Yearning for Yesteryear: Cal Ripken, Jr., The Streak, And the Politics of Nostalgia" and other similar articles. Also,
 * "Ripken is a best-selling author" - what best-selling list was his book on?
 * "Ripken is an accomplished author" - puffery, just state the facts. He co-wrote a couple of books. —maclean (talk) 20:28, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Do the changes I just made satisfy your concerns (if not, tell me what I can do better)? I think that some of the references I have added now back up leaving the word accomplished in. One definition of accomplished is "having many social accomplishments," and with so many books (two bestsellers), Ripken definitely fits that description. I also added in the co-authors to show that Ripken did not do all his writing himself. Oriolesfan8 (talk) 12:06, 5 May 2014 (UTC)
 * The autobiography peaked at #13 on the NYT Hardcover Non-fiction best-selling list. The other book peaked at #5 on the NYT Children's Chapter Books best-selling list. "is an accomplished author" is still an opinionated judgement - and isn't it redundant with the second part of that sentence now: "is an accomplished author and has written nearly thirty books"? maclean (talk) 19:56, 12 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Shouldn't sentences like "His first major league hit came six days later against Dennis Lamp of the Chicago White Sox." and "Aided by Ripken, the Orioles contended for the playoffs until they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on the final day of the season." link to team season articles.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 13:18, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Team season articles in these contexts would be both low value links and easter eggs. IMO, bare mentions of other teams should not link to specific season articles. Resolute 23:54, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Ian Rose (talk) 06:28, 25 May 2014 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.