Ryan Ripken, Son of Cal Ripken Jr., Signs Minor League Contract with Orioles
Ryan Ripken, the son of Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., reached an agreement Friday with the O's on a minor league contract.
The Orioles announced the signing of the infielder on social media.
Ripken was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 15th round of the 2014 MLB draft. He's struggled to produce across three years in the minor leagues. He owns a .205/.248/.277 triple-slash line with three home runs and one stolen base in 145 games.
The 23-year-old first baseman split the 2016 season between the Hagerstown Suns and Auburn Doubledays in the Nats organization. He barely stayed above the Mendoza line with a .201 combined batting average during those stints.
Those numbers illustrate how far he'd need to progress to reach the standard set by his father. The elder Ripken earned 19 All-Star selections, won two Most Valuable Player awards and led the franchise to the 1983 World Series championship across two decades with the O's.
His son told Lindsay Kramer of Syracuse.com last August there's some "added pressure" given all his Hall of Fame dad accomplished, including the record-breaking games played streak, but he wants to carve out his own story:
"As you get older, life's a little bit busier. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what he's doing half the time. He's running around and doing his thing, just like I'm doing mine. Growing up, I never viewed my dad as being a superstar, this iconic figure that people look at him as. I always just looked at him as my dad, and that growing up that was his job. I thought, 'Oh, he's going out and that's what he's doing for a living.' So, as I grew up and got older, obviously there's been added pressure. There's expectations. But my goal is to create my own path, whether that's playing baseball or not.
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Baltimore confirmed Ripken will start the season in extended spring training until the Aberdeen IronBirds kick off the New York-Penn League campaign in June.
