Bill Ripken, a 12-year major league veteran, began his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1987, under the direction of his father, Cal Ripken, Sr., and alongside brother Cal Ripken, Jr. This was the first and remains the only time in Major League Baseball history that a father simultaneously managed his two sons. After five and a half seasons with the Orioles, Ripken, who would later return to Baltimore for a year, played for Texas, Cleveland and Detroit. In 1988, he was second among American League second baseman in double plays turned (100). At the plate, Ripken led the Baltimore Orioles in hitting with a .291 average and 28 doubles in 1990.
A second baseman by trade, his fielding percentage was .9927 in 1992, the best of any major league second baseman that season. He concluded his career with a .247 lifetime batting average. In the spring of 2002, Ripken was honored for his achievements in Major League Baseball with an induction into the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame. Bill Ripken is currently the Co-Owner/ Executive Vice President of Ripken Baseball, founded in 1999 and based in Baltimore, MD. The young firm encompasses Ripken Baseball Camps and Clinics; Ripken Professional Baseball (Aberdeen IronBirds); construction of the Aberdeen Project, a state of the art youth baseball complex; and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. Today, Bill is actively involved in Ripken
Baseball Camps and Clinics, where he heads up the major league instructional
staff at various youth baseball camps and adult coaches' clinics throughout the
United States.
Through his work with these programs, he has become recognized as one of America's premiere baseball instructors. He has also found time to help produce Ripken Baseball's first instructional product- a two hour interactive CD-ROM, featuring Cal and Bill Ripken, that focuses on teaching the fundamentals of coaching baseball, "The Ripken Way." Bill, who was instrumental in the construction of Aberdeen's Ripken Stadium, continues to stay involved in the daily tasks of constructing the Ripken Baseball Youth Academy, adjacent to the minor league stadium, and slated to open in the summer of 2003.
|
