later, Ripken hit his first home run against Bud Black, helping the Orioles defeat Kansas City 5–1. Expected to be more of a fielder than a hitter, Ripken finished his inaugural season with a .308 batting average, two home runs, and 72 hits in 58 games. Billy was given the Orioles' second base role in 1988; with his brother, Cal Jr., at shortstop, the pair formed the Orioles' double play combination. Six games into the season, Cal Sr. was fired as the Orioles' manager, the quickest managerial firing in major league history. Immediately after, Billy switched his uniform number from 3 to his father's 7, saying, "I just didn't want to see anybody else wear it." The Orioles lost their first 21 games of the season en route to a 54-107 finish. A picture of Billy appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on May 2, 1988, used in an emblematic fashion to symbolize frustration at the team's struggles. In his rookie season, Billy played a career-high 150 games, batting .207 with 106 hits, two home runs, 34 RBI, and a .984 fielding percentage. A broken hand caused Ripken to miss the first two weeks of 1989, but he took over the job again on April 19, holding it until a strained right shoulder sidelined him in late August. Though Ripken returned from the injury on September 7, he did not see much playing time for the rest of the season. On August 7, in a 9–8 win over the Boston Red Sox, Billy and Cal Combined for seven hits, the American League (AL) record for brothers in the same game. In 115 games, Ripken batted .239 with 76 hits, two home runs, 26 RBI, and a .981 fielding percentage, which was third in the AL. In 1990, Ripken had perhaps his most successful campaign offensively. The Orioles' second baseman with the exception of a stretch in August in which he was hurt, he batted .291, the highest total of his career and a mark which would lead the Orioles in 1990. He also tied with his brother for the team lead in doubles (28) Defensively, Ripken finished fifth among AL second basemen with a .987 fielding percentage and led AL hitters with 17 sacrifice hits. Billy and Cal committed a total of 11 errors, the fewest in major league history among second baseman-shortstop combinations that appeared in at least