Don't let the offensive numbers fool you. Bill James (the leading statistician in pro baseball) shows that Ripken is most similar to the following players offensively:
1. Dave Winfield (787) * (first ballot HOF)
2. Robin Yount (759) * (first ballot HOF)
3. Craig Biggio (753) (not yet eligible for HOF)
4. Al Kaline (747) * (first ballot HOF)
5. Eddie Murray (742) * (first ballot HOF)
6. Carl Yastrzemski (741) * (first ballot HOF)
7. George Brett (704) * (first ballot HOF)
8. Harold Baines (703) (1 ballot)
9. Tony Perez (699) * (9 ballot HOF)
10. Andre Dawson (696) (5 ballots)
* denotes Hall of Famer
Add his remarkable streak of games played, World Championship, All-Star appearances and awards (ROY, Gold Gloves, POYs, AL MVPs, Silver Sluggers, etc) and it's not even a question that he's a first ballot HOF.