Billy Ripken
William Oliver Ripken, nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball from – for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Detroit Tigers. During his career, he batted and threw right-handed. He is the younger brother of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.. He serves as a radio host for XM Satellite Radio and a studio analyst for MLB Network.
Born in Maryland, Ripken grew up traveling around the United States as his father, Cal Ripken Sr., was a player and coach in the Orioles' organization. After attending Aberdeen High School, Ripken was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1982 MLB draft. He reached MLB in 1987, creating the first situation in baseball history that a father had managed two sons on the same team, as his brother played for the Orioles and his father, Cal Ripken Sr. managed the team. Ripken was a light hitter better known for his fielding skills, although he led the Orioles in batting average with a.291 mark in 1990. He served as their starting second baseman most of his first stint with the team. After the Orioles released him following the 1992 campaign, he played with four other teams, serving mostly as a utility infielder and never holding a starting role for very long. He played his final game in 1998 for the Detroit Tigers.
Early life
Ripken was born to Cal Sr. and Violet "Vi" Ripken in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Though the Ripkens called Aberdeen, Maryland, their home, they were often on the move because of Cal Sr.'s coaching duties with the Baltimore Orioles organization. This gave Bill the chance to be around his father's teams. He attended Aberdeen High School, where he played baseball. Over his final two seasons, he did not lose a single game as a pitcher, but the infield was where he planned to spend his career.Minor league career
Before the 1982 Major League Baseball draft, Cal Jr., Bill's brother who was on his way to winning the Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award with the Orioles, remarked, "Billy might go pretty high in the draft. I'd love for the Orioles to take him. That would be okay, wouldn't it? Having your father and brother with the same team?" The Orioles would wind up selecting Bill in the 11th round of the draft.Ripken began his professional career that same year with the Rookie League Bluefield Orioles, where he played mostly shortstop and third base. In 27 games, in which he totaled 45 at bats, Ripken posted a batting average of.244 with 11 hits and four runs batted in. Next season, Ripken remained at Bluefield and was used almost exclusively as a shortstop, although he also pitched the final of a game, allowing no runs. He batted.217 with 33 hits and 13 RBI in 48 games. In 1984, he was promoted to the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A Carolina League, where he appeared in 115 games. He batted.230 with 94 hits, the first two home runs of his career, and 40 RBI while posting a.948 fielding percentage at shortstop.
Ripken's 1985 season would be split between three teams. He spent the bulk of the year with the Daytona Beach Admirals of the Class A Florida State League, batting.230 with 51 hits and 18 RBI. He also appeared in 14 games with Hagerstown and 18 games with the Double-A Charlotte O's of the Southern League, batting.255 and.137, respectively, with those teams. He did not hit a home run in 1985. He played the whole 1986 season for Charlotte, batting.268 with 142 hits, 20 doubles, three triples, five home runs, and 62 RBI in 141 games. In addition, he led the Southern League in four fielding categories. In 1987, he was called up to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings of the International League, where he played 74 games, batting.286.
Major League Baseball career
Baltimore Orioles (1987–92)
In July 1987, the Orioles released Rick Burleson and called Ripken up to replace him. He debuted on July 11, creating the first instance in baseball history in which a father managed two sons on the same major league team, as his father was the Orioles' manager and his brother was their shortstop. While with the Orioles, Ripken played alongside his brother, Cal Ripken Jr.; he was managed by his father, Cal Sr., from 1987–1988. Billy did not have a hit in his debut but picked up his first hit as one of two against Charlie Leibrandt of the Kansas City Royals on July 16. Three days later, Ripken hit his first home run against Bud Black, helping the Orioles defeat Kansas City 5–1. 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 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, 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 that led the Orioles in 1990. He also tied with his brother for the team lead in doubles 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 two-thirds of their team's games at their respective positions.
In 1991, Ripken missed several games between July 14 and August 17 with an injury. His batting average dropped to.216 that year, and he had 62 hits, no home runs, and 14 RBI in 104 games. He had a.986 fielding percentage, but that did not qualify him for a spot in the top five in the AL. He, Tim Hulett, and Juan Bell combined for the lowest on-base percentage in the major leagues at any position and became the subject of trade rumors after the season. While his brother won the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, the Orioles finished sixth.
Mark McLemore shared second base with Ripken in 1992. Ripken hit what would be a career-high four home runs, batting.230 with 76 hits and 36 RBI in 111 games. He had a.993 fielding percentage. After the 1992 season, the Orioles acquired Harold Reynolds, which signaled the end of Ripken's days with the team. The Orioles officially ended his tenure by releasing him after the season.
1989 baseball card
In 1989, Ripken's Fleer card showed him holding a bat with the expletive "FUCK FACE" written in plain view on the knob of the bat. Fleer subsequently rushed to correct the error and, in their haste, released versions in which the text was scrawled over with a marker, whited out with correction fluid, and also airbrushed. On the final, corrected version, Fleer obscured the offensive words with a black box. Both the original card and many of the corrected versions have become collector's items as a result. There are at least ten different variations of this card. Once news got out, the original card's price went up to several hundred dollars.Years later, Ripken admitted to having written the expletive on the bat; however, he claimed he did it to distinguish it as a batting practice bat, and did not intend to use it for the card. He went on to say, "I can't believe the people at Fleer couldn't catch that. I mean, they certainly have to have enough proofreaders to see it. I think not only did they see it, they enhanced it. That writing on that bat is way too clear. I don't write that neat. I think they knew that once they saw it, they could use the card to create an awful lot of stir." Some collectors list the card as the "Rick Face" card, as they claim that the proximity between the letters appears to make the word "FUCK" look similar to "RICK".